Porsche planning Golf-based hot hatch by 2012
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German car magazine AutoBild reported this month that Porsche was planning to make a new compact hot hatch based on the next generation Volkswagen Golf Mk6 platform. The magazine claims that this new Porsche Golf will make it to the production lines in 2012, with concept versions likely to be shown in a year or two before that. Shown above is Theophilus Chin’s artist impression of the new Golf-based Porsche.
I can see why Porsche is doing this though - the same reason why you’ll see more and more premium manufacturers introducing smaller yet premium models into their line-up. The answer is the USA’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which requires car manufacturers to have certain fuel economy standards according to the footprint of the vehicle, which is measured by track multiplied by wheelbase.
Porsches which have large engines but very small wheelbases are hit badly by CAFE standards, but because CAFE is calculated by considering the average fuel economy of all cars the manufacturer is producing, adding a small compact car to its line-up with great fuel economy due to the smaller engine needed is a smart way to comply.
The new Golf-based Porsche will go against the likes of the BMW 135i, the Volkswagen Golf R32, and the Audi S3. It could be powered by the same engine as the R32, or the 3.6 liter direct injection V6 from the baseline Cayenne.
You will find one more rear-view rendering after the jump.
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June 20, 2008 @ 12:13 am
wow, nice
June 20, 2008 @ 12:51 am
look like siroco in the back
June 20, 2008 @ 1:26 am
it is definitely based on the scirocco
i just think the front sloping engine bay looks a bit of tweaking, else it should look fine, did u chopped it from the porsche cayenne?
June 20, 2008 @ 1:27 am
also to note, u have misaligned the chop on ur car, just to remind u theo
June 20, 2008 @ 8:54 am
Hey Kevin. Yes the front is from Cayenne. The 911, Boxster and Cayman’s front can’t be crafted onto a car whose front is high. And yes i just noticed the misalignment, must have screwed up the layers when i flattened some. Thanks.
June 20, 2008 @ 9:00 am
the chop is definitely based on the scirocco but as i have been working with porsche before, imho i feel that this just ridiculous. i can accept the concept of the cayenne as it is still a rwd vehicle. rwd normally denotes the possibility of performance. the vw based car will just dilute the brand even further. whatever it is, even if they want to move downmarket, they need RWD. not a hand me down fwd car. think of the 944, 968 the 928 etc. that is what porsche should be making. yes, it will cost more to develop but hey this is porsche we’re talking about. not some mass german car maker. as what the marketing manager of the asia pacific region told me once, even the 924 would dilute the core principals in todays environment.
porsche, it is just not on. toyota is moving to have a rwd sports car that is affordable and bmw has always remained rwd. what does this show? porsche, please get your principals right!! getting a piece of the pie at the lowest possible cost is of course ideal (i think wiedeking would agree) but you have to stick to what you promise your customers. like what your founder once said “in the beginning, i looked for a sports car. something small, light, efficient etc. i could not find it, so i decided to build it myself”. (i can’t remember the exact words though but they’re in my manual).
my point is, why do something that honda has done so well in the type r civic? why try to do a better golf? would anyone pay the premium for a golf with a porsche badge? i think the best is to revive the 924/968/928 series. real sports cars with 50:50 weight distribution and having the transaxle at the back for balance.
porsche, please get back to making great sports cars, big OR SMALL!
June 20, 2008 @ 11:24 am
Funny looking froggy Porsche. Savvy pun kalah.
June 20, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
nice effort by Theophilus, but i think the actual production version will look better than this…
so in the future, maybe we should be able to see some smaller size or hatchback Ferrari, Lambo, Aston etc, hybrid or fully electric powered with 1000hp, lol~
June 20, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
bumper and headlight looks like R8… and rear like EG6 actually!!! what a hybrid car..huhu
June 20, 2008 @ 8:39 pm
not bad looking!
but its un “porsche” like to delve into this particular market since they are known to be making fast cars.
remember how BMW and MERCS went absolutely ballistic when porsche announced they were going to make the cayenne?
i think same thing might happen again.
June 20, 2008 @ 9:16 pm
hehe… look like a frog up front. Those lights need to be minimize a bit. Too have less of an impact for the frontal design.
June 21, 2008 @ 12:11 am
Nice job on that photoshop. I like. I don’t think the front will look like that. give more porche, less R8 in that
June 21, 2008 @ 12:13 am
that is…. horrible IMO…..
June 21, 2008 @ 9:46 am
looks funny as i never see Posh make this kinda car for the pass few years.