Us journalists have our opinions. Often times, our opinions are quite strong and almost unanimous. However, just because journalists feel one way doesn’t mean customers will feel the same. In fact, often times, journalists and customers have opposite and conflicting opinions. Cars like the BMW X6 are perfect examples of this discord. Us journos find them to be a bit useless, while customers love them. Which is why even Porsche is looking to jump into the mix, with a possible Cayenne Coupe.
These sorts of coupe-like SUVs are basically just fashion items, as they aren’t as good at being SUVs as actual SUVs and they aren’t as good to drive as actual coupes, obviously. So they’re just ‘tweeners to satisfy fashionistas. Despite that, though, customers can’t get enough.
When BMW first launched the X6, journalists and enthusiasts scoffed, laughed and mocked. It was considered to be an ugly, ungainly and useless beast of a car. Yet, since then, it’s spawned a successor and a competitor, in the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe. Now, it seems as if an upcoming Porsche Cayenne Coupe will be adding more competition.
While Porsche hasn’t exactly made up its mind, it’s certainly considering the idea of such a car. Porsche Boss Oliver Blume recently told Autocar, “We analyse different segments and this can be an option in the future. Today, no decision has been taken. We have to make a calculation and talk to our customers.”
Porsche has even created a model of what such a car would look like, as it does so for every possible idea, just to get a decent look at what it could be. According to Porsche Design Boss Michael Mauer, “As a design department, we’re always asked to come up with proposals,” he told Autocar. “This is the most attractive part of the job: when the brand asks me to provide design ideas to visualise the product portfolio with no limitations of budgets. For each and every model, we have a lot of ideas. But there has to be a business plan. Yes, we’ve developed a lot of ideas.”
What’s refreshing to hear is that Porsche is looking to see what its customers want, rather than looking to expand its model portfolio. Porsche knows that it will never be a volume brand, so expanding its portfolio for the sake of expansion would actually do more harm than good. “We have had good growth in the last few years, but the number of cars is less important than the needs of customers.” said Blume. We know that the traditional luxury customer loves these damn things, with the X6 and GLE Coupe being so popular, but Porsche customers aren’t your traditional customers.
Both the Porsche Cayenne and Macan are formidable SUVs, probably the best in their respective classes, so if the German brand ever does decide to make a Cayenne Coupe, expect it to be a dangerous car in the segment. However, it’s not certain one will ever be made.
[Source: Autocar]The article Porsche Considering Cayenne Coupe to take on BMW X6 appeared first on BMW BLOG
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