German luxury sports car brand Porsche is considering merging two of its car series into one. This will see the Taycan electric sports car series and the Panamera, which has petrol, diesel and hybrid variants, combined into one. It’s unclear what the resulting series will be called, but it is said to have petrol, plug-in hybrids and fully electric models in its range.
Autocar reports that the merger plan is part of broader cost-cutting measures from new Porsche CEO Michael Leiters. The report notes that the new CEO has controlling development costs as an important goal. And combining the two lines – allowing them to share parts – is seen as a step towards that. That said, it’s unclear for now what exactly it entails.
Per the report, the Panamera is based on the Porsche MSB platform. On the flip side, the Taycan is built upon the J1 platform. Both are noted to be on their way out, with the next Panamera expected to be adopting PPC, while the Taycan moves on to the SSP Sport architecture. That later one is noted to have itself been delayed.
Cost-Cutting By Parts Sharing
That being said, the report cites sources who say the different platforms of their successor models won’t be a barrier for a common identity, never mind parts sharing. It also won’t be the first Porsche to do so. The report highlights the Macan being sold in internal combustion and electric variants in certain markets, both with different platforms.
Of course, there’s the matter of the name and visual identity of this new combines series. Unless Porsche gives it a new name, it will have to drop either the Taycan or Panamera name. Similarly, the Stuttgart stallion may have to give up one of the two’s visual identity. Or indeed come up with a new third one. For now, it’s unclear which direction the company is leaning towards, if indeed it is leaning towards either.
(Source: Autocar)
