Automotive

ThomasM
[PuristS]
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Porsche: when did they start to move to the "high end"?

Porsche was always competitive in motorsports. They were also always popular among sports car enthusiasts. In the early days, there was much technology and parts sharing with VW and in the US, distribution was, in the 1970's and some of the 1980's, almost always through Porsche Audi dealerships. So for those of us who "came of age" in the 1970's and early 1980's, Porsche was indelibly ingrained as the sports car division of VW Porsche Audi. VW was the affordable one, the Hyundai of its day, and Audi made interesting commuter and family cars but mostly at the just slightly higher end of the middle range  (remember the Fox? 80/90/100/200? the 4000/5000? It was really only the Coupe and Coupe Quattro that really helped the Audi brand "break out" in the modern era, in my mind, rightly or wrongly...)

"Quality" - of parts, fit and finish, of haptic "feel" was, to be honest, not much above VW and Audi of the period - cheap plastics and switchgear (by today's standards) and leather only on surfaces, a more "cost effective" way to use expensive materials, in their higher end models and sub-models.

The emphasis was on the engine and transmission, and even if the transmission was, for the most part, outsourced (ZF? Getrag?) Some might even point out that the 912 used a VW engine in some variants and the 914 (remember that?) was a joint development.

So in my still formative years, the ones during which images and impressions stay with you for most of your life, Porsches were much more "people's cars" even if sports cars, and thus, luxuries; and on a different, lower level than the higher "quality" and status Mercedes, Ferraris, Maseratis, and Lamborghinis. Not only were they more expensive, they were trimmed in finer leathers (or better quality "plastic") and higher quality switchgear.

Porsche today seems to be increasingly on the same footing as Ferrari and Lamborghini (some might argue this started as far back as the Porsche Turbo of 1976, but even that wasn't "on the same level" price and fit and finish wise) and with the 959, and today the 918, not to mention the ultra rare GT1 and other extremely small run homologation specials, it seems Porsche is solidly playing in the series production supercar leagues. 

What are your thoughts on this, and when did Porsche start to "move up" in your  mind? Or was it always playing in the same league as Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini, and I just got it all wrong in the 1970's and 80's?

I do recall that Lamborghini and Maserati released the Urocco and Merak to be competitive with (provide an Italian alternative to) the 911, so at least Porsche was considered a competitor for those brands in "lower end" sports car markets.

A walk down memory lane, revisiting old and long held impressions...

Cheers,

TM