carmudgeons.com - Boxster EV/hybrid future

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Boxster EV/hybrid future - death of MT?

I had heard that Porsche would be moving into making hybrid cars, but I had no idea it was this soon and this much of a done deal. A quick search yielded many articles suggesting it was imminent. One that I found was this:

https://www.goauto.com.au/news/porsc...-20/82837.html

Another contributing factor guiding the 718’s future is the Chinese market, which Mr Walliser said almost singlehandedly saved the Boxster and Cayman after the series downsized from a natural-breathing 2.7-litre six-cylinder engine to a turbocharged 2.0-litre four in 2016.

He said cracking into the Chinese market was of such significance to Porsche that the German sportscar marque was willing to compromise 718 sales in its “more traditional markets” in order to succeed in the world’s biggest automotive market.

"It was one of the most important strategic moves we did in the whole model line,” Mr Walliser said.

This reliance on the Chinese market is another reason why an electric 718 would be viable for Porsche given 860,000 electric vehicles were sold there last year, with the market share of EVs slated to reach 25 per cent before the end of this decade.

As for other directions under consideration for the next series, Mr Walliser revealed that a new body style could also come to fruition with the expansion of the Targa nameplate.

While stopping short of confirming the new addition, Mr Walliser said the targa body style “would work” as part of the 718 range, broadening its appeal as Porsche has successfully achieved with the 911.

That was a bit surprising as to the extent of the impact of China on the Boxster product planning.

Personally, I'm super bummed out. This move to EV/hybrid will almost certainly kill the MT on the Boxster. If we are extremely lucky, they may still make NA H6+MT Boxsters at the $100K level still, but that's a big if and way too pricey.

I hate that used ones are so expensive. But does it mean they are even more likely to hold their value?

EDIT: Oh, and FWIW, there are similar indications that Mazda will move to hybrids on the NE Miata. So that one could also lose the MT. Sad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC (Post 562067)

I hate that used ones are so expensive. But does it mean they are even more likely to hold their value?

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showth...ter#post561954

:dunno:

Time to stock up on all the cars we love now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clyde (Post 562069)

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showth...ter#post561954

:dunno:

Perhaps, but those are older cars now. Pushing 15 years. I'm talking about cars inside of a decade. Plus, JST's comments are true in relative terms, IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clyde (Post 562069)

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showth...ter#post561954

:dunno:

Yeah, used ones aren't that expensive, and for the reasons you suggest depreciation will be (relatively) gentle.

I think it's always tricky to time "last manual" of anything, as the 911R showed, but I don't think you'll go wrong buying either a nice 981 or 987--and I think even buying a 4.0 GTS new won't be a *bad* move if you plan to keep it 10-20 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JST (Post 562072)

I think it's always tricky to time "last manual" of anything, as the 911R showed,

Yes. Look at me with the F80. Not to say I regret it, but it would have been a better move had the G80 been slushie-only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JST

but I don't think you'll go wrong buying either a nice 981 or 987--and I think even buying a 4.0 GTS new won't be a *bad* move if you plan to keep it 10-20 years.

That's my pickle. Given my use case, and ability to care for it, even a new one would probably wind up having a pretty reasonable ownership cost after several years. It's just tough to sink that much cash. Hypothetically, say it costs $5k a year, my wife would rather have a new $50k car be worth nothing in ten years than a $100k car be worth $50k. Obviously you have the opportunity cost of having sunk that extra $50k for a decade which could double that sum. But it's also a psychological barrier which I totally understand (and have myself).

I can accept new H6 Boxsters being $100k. I have trouble accepting 2015 GTS's costing $65-70k, for example. There is just no supply (of MT's). It's amazing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC (Post 562073)

Yes. Look at me with the F80. Not to say I regret it, but it would have been a better move had the G80 been slushie-only.

That's my pickle. Given my use case, and ability to care for it, even a new one would probably wind up having a pretty reasonable ownership cost after several years. It's just tough to sink that much cash. Hypothetically, say it costs $5k a year, my wife would rather have a new $50k car be worth nothing in ten years than a $100k car be worth $50k. Obviously you have the opportunity cost of having sunk that extra $50k for a decade which could double that sum. But it's also a psychological barrier which I totally understand (and have myself).

I can accept new H6 Boxsters being $100k. I have trouble accepting 2015 GTS's costing $65-70k, for example. There is just no supply (of MT's). It's amazing.

Maybe the supply will loosen up when the 6 cylinder 718s have greater market penetration.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdc330i (Post 562074)

Maybe the supply will loosen up when the 6 cylinder 718s have greater market penetration.

Perhaps. Hopefully. 2020 seems like a bad time to make such a purchase and the M3 purchase is still fresh.

I earned some brownie points with Stephanie for backing out of the SL600. So I'll let that earn interest, use the Miata some more (had it almost 4 years now!), and we'll see in 2021. There may also be more clarity as to future product offerings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC (Post 562073)

Yes. Look at me with the F80. Not to say I regret it, but it would have been a better move had the G80 been slushie-only.

I am confused on this ... I thought the new M3/M4 was going to be an Automatic only (Not even DCT) ... also have you seen the new nose on that car :vomit:

https://www.google.com/search?q=g80+...0z1GMq-3HlMl6M

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan (Post 562076)

Well, no official photos yet, but it does seem like it will have hideous kidneys. That said, IIRC, MT has been confirmed though last I read there were conflicting reports wrt if the MT would be available with all configurations. I seem to recall that ZCP would not be available in combination with MT.