Porsche to add flagship model above Cayenne

ATLANTA — Porsche once again is set to push the boundaries of what defines a Porsche.

The company — famed for its sports cars and, more recently, sporty crossovers — is developing a vehicle that is larger, longer and wider than the Cayenne midsize crossover, the brand's biggest nameplate now, according to U.S. dealers who were shown a rendering of the vehicle at a meeting here last week.

"It's a new style of vehicle that is part sedan, part crossover," said one dealer, describing it as having a "rakish" design.

A spokesman for Porsche Cars North America said the company won't comment or speculate on specific future models, but he said the automaker has become "very open in sharing ideas under an initiative — Porsche Unseen — the majority of which don't make it beyond the ideas stage" but serve as an inspiration.

"We're grateful for such creativity within our business, as we're continually exploring new opportunities and where we might compete in the future," the spokesman said. "Whether these go any further than renderings and ideas to make it to the production stage — let alone how they will be powered or configured — is undecided."

The new vehicle is slated to arrive in the second half of the decade and could offer three rows — a first for a Porsche.

"It's very un-Porsche-like," another dealer familiar with the vehicle said. "It has a flat rear design; it's not anything like the Macan and Cayenne."

While Porsche did not disclose details of the vehicle's powertrain, dealers expect it to be a plug-in hybrid at launch. A battery-powered vehicle could follow.

The new nameplate could be related to a flagship electric vehicle Volkswagen Group is said to be developing for Audi, Porsche and Bentley in Germany.

That vehicle, code-named Landjet, will roll off a new production line at VW Group's factory in Hanover, Germany, Handelsblatt reported late last year.

The three-row, seven-seat vehicle is being developed by Audi as part of its Artemis project to create and adopt new technologies for electric and highly automated automobiles under the VW Group.

The Landjet is expected to offer a range of 404 miles. It is not clear whether the production Landjet will be a sedan, a utility vehicle or a mix of both, according to the report.

The addition of a people-hauler under the Porsche brand is squarely aimed at attracting younger customers.

The median age of Porsche car owners is 60, compared with 38 for the brand's crossover owners, according to AutoPacific's 2021 New Vehicle Satisfaction Survey.

"The current Porsche crossover SUV portfolio can only accommodate small families, as both Macan and Cayenne are two-row models," AutoPacific analyst Ed Kim said. "By adding a three-row model, Porsche crossover SUV owners will no longer need to leave the brand as their families grow in size."

It's also a market sweet spot in a light truck-crazed America.

U.S. sales of large premium utility vehicles — crossovers (up 22 percent through the third quarter) and SUVs (up 36 percent) — far outpaced the overall market's 13 percent gain through the third quarter of this year.

While the addition of a three-row Porsche might sound like sacrilege to brand enthusiasts, Porsche has shown it is not afraid to throw tradition aside when it sees a market opportunity.

It recognized the potential of SUVs and crossovers in the early 2000s and launched the Cayenne in 2002, followed by the Macan compact crossover in 2013. The utility vehicles are now Porsche's volume leaders.

At the meeting, dealers also were briefed on Porsche's strategy to transition from combustion engines to an all-electric lineup. The automaker expects battery-powered and plug-in hybrids to account for more than 80 percent of deliveries worldwide in 2030.

The midengine Cayman coupe and Boxster convertible will go all-electric around 2025, dealers were told.

The front-end design of the Boxster EV is similar to that of the Taycan electric fastback, while the rear borrows the full-width taillight design from the Taycan, according to dealers who were shown the convertible.

"The car looks stunning," a dealer said. "It looks really sporty-looking."

A battery-powered version of Porsche's bestseller, the Macan, is expected to arrive in 2023.

The Macan EV could feature hands-free driving technology and a camera-based driver-monitoring system, according to dealers who were shown the features in a video. Porsche did not say when the technology might come to the U.S.

While an all-electric 911 has been ruled out, a hybrid version is expected toward the end of the decade.