Porsche's advertising objective for the 911 has been the same since its introduction 50 years ago. They market the 911 as the practical sports car. While the practicality and the performance are reasons for buying the car, another reason is its exclusivity. The fact that not everyone can afford it puts the car in a category reserved for the most desirable sports cars in the world. Porsche is in a unique position with the 911. They have already developed a name for the car, a successful racing career and a trust with the general public in regards to the performance, safety and reliability. Porsche now spends most of its advertising budget on keeping customers aware of the car. Porsche has a few mediums both direct and indirectly of advertising to their customers. They regularly sponsor and compete in racing events all over the world. From the 24 Hours of La Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring to smaller touring car events like the Grand-Am and American Le Mans.
Porsche holds special press day meetings when releasing new cars, so that automotive journalists can get a chance to drive the car early and give a review of it. They sometimes even send the magazines one of their cars to use over a period of time and give an impression of what the car is like to live with. These review scores given by the journalist can greatly impact how well the car sells in the region. Porsche also does paid advertising in magazines and on the internet. Recently Porsche has had an issue with public relations. When they started selling the 991 GT3, they began receiving reports of the engine catching fire and destroying the car. Porsche recalled all of the 785 units they had sold to that point. They were forced to stop production, fix the problem which was caused by a faulty screw in a connecting rod and replace every engine. They were then accused of not being fair by UK GT3 owners since customers in the UK received less compensation than their counter parts in other regions.
The 718 generation Porsche Boxsters are now in their more mature years that mandate some over-the-top improvements if the sales are to remain satisfactory. And with 2,287 units sold, 2017 was the worst year for the fourth-generation Boxster thus far. Needless to say, the Germans have already prepared the answer: it鈥檚 the 2019 Boxster Spyder, which aims to take a seat at the top of the lineup straight from the get-go. Although the overall design remains unchanged (since the 718s underwent a mid-cycle refresh in 2017), there are still a few details that鈥檒l differentiate the Spyder from the rest of the lineup, and I鈥檓 not talking about the soft top. As the performance model of the lineup, the Boxster Spyder will sport a unique rear diffuser, more aggressive air inlets, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, among other things. Most importantly, the new Porsche Boxster Spyder is all set and ready to unholster the big guns; all 500 of them. That鈥檚 actually the amount of horsepower the engine it鈥檒l share with the aforementioned Porsche 911 GT3 RS has.
Knowing how Porsche intentionally chokes its 718 Boxsters and Caymans in favor of the 911, a somewhat watered-down output is a highly likely possibility. The upcoming Porsche all-electric sedan will be looking to revolutionize the German automaker鈥檚 lineup in an even more radical way than the Cayenne did some 15 years ago. Every carmaker worth its salt is knee-deep in electric vehicle development these days, and Porsche is no exception. Despite being in development for some time now, the production-ready model鈥檚 appearance in 2019 is still uncertain. However, since the Germans have already started taking deposits for it, the future of all-electric performance shouldn鈥檛 be that far away. Moreover, since they still haven鈥檛 disclosed the car鈥檚 full pricing, deposits in question are actually refundable if a buyer doesn鈥檛 agree with the final price. 75,000 prior to incentives, which would put them right in the Tesla Model S range - a smart move if they plan to be truly competitive. Speaking of performance, the Mission E - or Taycan as it鈥檚 recently been revealed the searing-hot electric vehicle will be called - will be available with either 402 hp, 536 hp, or 670 hp.