PARIS SHOW: VW won't damage Porsche says new boss

2010 PARIS MOTOR SHOW NEWS SPECIAL

EXCLUSIVE: If Porsche purists were worried when mass carmaker Volkswagen took a 49.9 per cent share in the company last year, they must have been beside themselves when it was announced last month that the new boss of the sportscar brand is a former Volkswagen executive.

Indeed, immediately before he became the boss of Porsche, Matthias Muller was in charge of strategy, product planning and integration across all Volkswagen brands – that is, sharing components, architectures and costs across all marques.

Volkswagen management has already announced it is looking at using the Porsche Boxster to underpin a mid engine sportscar for Audi and Volkswagen. But the big concern is what happens when the technology is shared the other way around: when a Volkswagen becomes a Porsche?

In an exclusive interview with the Carsales Network at the Paris motor show preview overnight, Muller said that Porsche purists need not worry.

"Porsche is a fascinating company and my first task should be to keep that fascination as well," Muller told the Carsales Network.

"The biggest challenge is to analyse our cycle plan and product strategy and to have some synergies with the Volkswagen Group. Maybe some people are nervous but I think in three months nobody will be nervous," he said.

Overseas reports have suggested that Porsche is about to unveil a concept for the rumoured fifth model in its line-up – a baby SUV which is smaller than the Cayenne but bigger than the Volkswagen Tiguan – possibly at the Detroit motor show in January.

According to company insiders, Volkswagen and Porsche are working on a baby SUV right now, ready for introduction in two to three years.

Meanwhile, the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and the son of Ferry Porsche – the man who invented the original Volkswagen Beetle and, later, the sports car that would become the Porsche 911 – told the Carsales Network his father would be "proud" of the current ownership and model sharing arrangements.

Dr Wolfgang Porsche is the chairman of the supervisory board of Porsche AG.

When asked about Volkswagen's increasing involvement in and influence over Porsche, he said: "I think the integrated company is a good solution."

When asked if he felt that cars like the Cayenne were good for Porsche's brand image, he said: "The brand is still strong.

"My father was always looking for a four seater and we tried very often to create a four seater 911 and it never worked. But the Cayenne I think is a good way to put Porsches in the reach of families. And if you look at the Panamera [sedan] it is a very good four seater and is nearly a sportscar.

"Yes, I think my father would be proud," Porsche stated.

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