Porsche Hires Big To Make The Taycan Happen
Coming soon from Germany is the Porsche Taycan, an all-new electric model that鈥檚 set to make waves in the luxury automotive market. To make the car happen, Porsche has had to make some big moves. For instance, the introduction of the new model has created 1,200 in Zuffenhausen at the main plant. 鈥淭he Taycan is one of biggest creators of jobs in the history of Porsche,鈥?emphasizes Andreas Haffner, Member of the Executive Board responsible for HR and Social Affairs. Porsche does say, however, that all of these new employees will not be producing the Taycan. 鈥渃reate a team with a healthy mix of experienced sports car manufacturers and new staff.鈥?On top of the added workforce, the Porsche has stated that by 2022 they will invest over 鈧? billion in e-mobility. It looks like Porsche is going full steam ahead with electric cars and the Taycan is just the start.
While the GT car aura of the upcoming 718 Cayman GT4 and the eccentric roof of the Boxster Spyder mean these are uber-niche models, the other versions we鈥檙e talking about will be destiner for a slightly larger audience. We鈥檝e talked about these naturally aspirated toys before and we are now back on the topic and that鈥檚 because a pair of prototypes has recently hit the Nurburgring. The only naturally aspirated six-pot 718 model you can buy today is the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, a racecar animated by an updated version of its predecessor鈥檚 3.8-liter boxer. So it remains to be seen what kind of flat-six occupies the middle section of the prototypes we have here. Zooming in on the body details of these testers, we notice the front end shared with the GTS (this is also available on the standard models as a Sport Design apron). As for the rear bumper, this seems to stand in between the aggressive unit of the GT4 and that of the GTS.
Car company slogans, taglines, catchphrases - call them what you will - nobody pays any attention to them, right? At least they don鈥檛 when a firm such as Mazda devotes all of five minutes and a budget of a fiver, if that, coming up with a line as meaningless as 鈥淶oom-Zoom鈥? Then there鈥檚 Cadillac鈥檚 鈥渢he new standard for the world鈥?cry, which is much better, but plain wrong. 鈥淏elow standard鈥?would be more accurate. At Britain鈥檚 best-loved company, Jaguar, there鈥檚 much pain on the financial, employment, production, sales, and other fronts just now. And, with this in mind, the firm is resorting to TV advertising to deliver its latest, desperately simple message: Search Jaguar Offers. The chant is boring but strangely effective, because - for the first time ever - I found myself immediately following the instructions by searching on my phone. Sadly - and crazily on the part of Brit-based, Indian-owned Jag - the deals were largely underwhelming.
Truth is, it鈥檚 got far more cars than customers, so I was expecting mega-discounts, zero-per-cent finance and similar temptations. But all I found was mention of deposit contributions (on their own, not enough) plus interest rates of 5.9 per cent (far too high). If loss-making Jaguar is to achieve the improved health it so desperately needs, it has to hammer home the sermon that its cars are world-class premium products. And some are insanely good value. Be my guest, pay well over 拢30,000 for a high-spec SUV from the likes of Hyundai, Kia, Skoda or Volkswagen. But, if you do, you鈥檒l be stuck in mainstream territory, instead of upgrading yourself to the premium league your budget allows you to enter. It鈥檚 a similar story with the larger F-Pace, 2017鈥檚 World Car of the Year, which can still be yours for less than 拢40,000 (or 拢300-plus monthly), making it a real bargain.
This is a big, proper Jag for high-spec Mitsubishi money, for heaven鈥檚 sake. Looking at one of Jag鈥檚 most obvious premium rivals - Porsche - I鈥檓 part horrified, part delighted that an E-Pace AND an F-Pace (each with lowish specs) can be had for around the same price as a mid-spec Porsche Cayenne. With all this in mind, I have no hesitation in saying Jaguar is armed with one of the finest, most internationally recognised, best-designed SUV ranges in the world. And, in terms of value for money, it鈥檚 not one of the best. You, dear car buyer with 拢30k-拢40k burning a hole in your pocket, don鈥檛 know how fortunate you are to be in the market for such Jags at such comparatively affordable prices. But why is it left to me to tell you all this? Why aren鈥檛 Jaguar and its highly paid advertising agency doing the same? Enjoyed reading Mike's latest column?