Poor man's Porsche 'under consideration' via news.com.au

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Poor man's Porsche 'under consideration'

From correspondents in Berlin, GermanyAgence France-PresseOctober 05, 2009 06:22am+-PrintEmailShare

Porsche may produce a "discount" model

Sales slumped by 24pc last financial year

FOR decades the preserve of the rich and famous, the iconic Porsche sportscar may soon be available as a more affordable model, according to a senior executive at the German car maker.

The priority for the crisis-hit company is to produce a car significantly cheaper than the current "bottom-of-the-range" model, the Porsche Boxster, which costs €46,506 ($77,743), Wolfgang Duerheimer, head of development, told Automobilwoche magazine.

Deeper co-operation with Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, which in August announced a merger with Porsche, will make it possible to reduce costs, he said in an interview to appear today.

Porsche's sales have slumped by 24 per cent in the financial year to July 31 but the company has expressed optimism that the worst of the crisis was now in the rear-view mirror.

Last month, Porsche boss Michael Macht said the company was working on electric sports cars and would add the classic 911 to its suite of hybrid petrol-electric cars.

Speaking at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, Mr Macht said: “I am also convinced that one day Porsche will have an electric sports car in its line-up. Since this trend towards electric power is unstoppable, our engineers are already working hard on this challenge.”

“Everything we have seen in this area has not yet been sufficient to meet our substantial demands, particularly when it comes to battery technology and charge cycles,” he said.

“An electric sports car would therefore only make sense for Porsche if it offers the performance and cruising range similar to that of current sports cars in the market.”