Javi Martin
In 1989, Ferry Porsche made a prediction that later came true. The boss of Porsche stated, at the time, that "If we built an off-road model according to our quality standards and the Porsche shield on the front, people would buy it."
Ferry Porsche did not see his prediction come true, he passed away on March 27, 1998 and the Porsche Cayenne hit the market in 2002. But surely he would have been really proud. He was a visionary, putting on the table a very crazy idea, at a critical moment, because Shortly after, it became known that the German firm was in serious financial trouble that almost ended the company. Salvation, as you all know, was that SUV with the Porsche shield on the front.
But… Have you ever wondered how its creation was forged? It was not as simple as it may seem, at that time, this type of vehicle did not have as much pull as it has come to have, and a minivan of character was even considered premium… a minivan!
It has been 20 years since the Porsche Cayenne was put into circulation, the greatest sacrilege that the brand made in front of the purists is quite a “youngtimer" that, without a doubt, it will end up being a collector's vehicle, especially in its most performance versions. During these 20 years, the Cayenne has had versions with a diesel engine, has crossed the desert, has broken several records on the legendary Nürbugring circuit and has achieved sales that have exceeded one million units.
On the edge of the precipice
The history of Porsche is marked by its successes in competition, by its sports cars and by a serious economic setback that was about to end the company. It was the 90s and the brand was trapped in its flagship model, the 911. Previously, had launched models that, despite their undeniable interest, were not well received by purists, it was not “authentic Porsche”. The market, on the other hand, did give them a better reception, but the brand ended up betting on its "all behind" being a mistake.
Back in the 90s there were only two cars in production with the Porsche logo, the aforementioned (and untouchable) Porsche 911 and a small roadster that was called the Boxster (combination of Boxer and Roadster). While the Porsche Boxster was a critical and sales success, it couldn't help the 911 on its own. and, therefore, they could not raise the company. Additionally, the Boxster became known as the "Porch of the Ladies," prompting many "men" to think of other options.
At that time, Hans Riedel, a member of the Board of Directors responsible for sales, commissioned a market study that showed that the two models in the catalog could not ensure a future for the company. A solution had to be found, which ended up being the development of a third model, one that would ensure income and stability.
"It was evident that sports cars plan certain limits in the market”. – Anton Hunger, Head of Communications at Porsche in the 90s
The brand had already taken some solutions to return to the path of profit starting in 1993, when Wendelin Wiedelhing took over the company. It was he who, with the help of Toyota, optimized production, simplified the hierarchical structure and launched the Boxster on the market.
A third car was needed, but… What car?
It was clear that a vehicle had to be developed that would allow the range to be extended, but it had to be a vehicle outside the sports car segment. The question was, what kind of vehicle? After several meetings, feasibility studies and other things related to any industrial project (and even more so with projects of this magnitude), it ended up making a list of five possible options, which ended up being two after different deliberations: A luxury minivan or a sporty premium SUV.
Many will think that a minivan does not make any sense, but in those years, minivans were "the car of the future", its success in the market was remarkable and it seemed that the industry would end up manufacturing only minivans. Something like what happens with SUVs, but less exaggerated. Nevertheless, the minivan was rejected, de facto, by the American division, and that veto meant throwing that option away, since the United States was Porsche's largest market in those years.
"In the mid-90s, the minivan was a particularly popular type of car among large, low-income families in North America. But large SUVs were a safe bet for a broader clientele.”. – Anton Hunger, Head of Communications in the 90s
The third Porsche model was already decided, it would be a “Sport Utility Vehicle”, an SUV, but the brand had no experience and the liquidity was fair, very fair. It was necessary to find a partner that would allow the project to move forward and the first option was… Mercedes! The Germans were working on a similar project, which would end up being the Mercedes M-Class, which would go on the market in 1997. They had already shown a preview at the 1996 Detroit Motor Show and then in Geneva that same year, with the Mercedes AAVision Concept.
Mercedes did not work and Volkswagen arrived
The Germans of the star did not see bad that Porsche joined the project and the collaboration of both companies began in the summer of 1996. At first everything was going very well, it was even fully defined what the Porsche SUV would be like, but everything went wrong for economic reasons.
"At that point, we imagine Porsche's SUV as a high-performance variant of the Mercedes, with technology inherited from the M-Class, but with its own exterior design, engines and chassis components.”. – Klaus-Gerhard Wolpert, vice president of the Cayenne range from 1998 to 2010
Porsche was back in the starting box, a new partner had to be found and that was when Volkswagen appeared, or rather, Ferdinand Piëch, none other than the grandson of Mr. Ferry Porsche. Piëch was another visionary, he was the one who started one of the best times for Volkswagen. Under his mandate, the acquisitions of Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti and yes, finally Porsche were carried out, although that came later.
Ferdinand Piëch saw the potential of a partnership with Porsche and also saw that such a car had a place in the Volkswagen range, which was taking a very particular path and that led them, at that time, to be one of the best brands. of the world. A) Yes, The collaboration between both companies began in 1997 and the “Colorado” project was created., which would be based on the platform that Porsche had already created. Volkswagen would take over production of the SUVs and Porsche would take over development. From this association the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg were born, which shared elements such as the platform, the doors and some systems, but which were very different cars.
The development entailed a detailed study of the competition
Porsche was very clear that its lack of experience could affect the development of its first SUV, its experience with sports cars could not be fully used for the creation of this car and it had to tread carefully, its prestige and the future of the own company were at stake. You had to proceed with some caution and of course, you had to study the competition. That's why Wolpert, vice president of the Cayenne range until 2010, did something very unusual. He gathered all those involved in the project, asked them to return their company cars and gave them the keys to cars from the competition: BMW X5, Ford Explorer, Jeep Gran Cherokee and Mercedes M-Class.. All of them bought by the brand so that the engineers had a clear idea of the most relevant aspects to take into account and knew what they were going to face.
«I told my division managers to hand over their Porsche company cars. In exchange, they would drive several different SUVs and off-road models that we acquired, such as the BMW X5, the Ford Explorer, the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the Mercedes M-Class. They all had to use these cars daily, and every four weeks we rotated them. This was one of the keys to our success.«. – Klaus-Gerhard Wolpert, vice president of the Cayenne range from 1998 to 2010
This way of working was also used, later, for the development of the Porsche Panamera and it is clear that, in the end, it was the best idea they could have had. The Porsche Cayenne was a success, laid the economic foundations for the brand and allowed it to become strong, very strong. Thanks to the Porsche Cayenne, the brand has managed to reach our days as one of the most profitable, most technological and most capable companies, even being a reference in the development of electric and hybrid vehicles.
When it was launched on the market, it created an earthquake of considerable dimensions. Purists and clubs rejected the car from the start, with no other arguments than its status as an SUV, something similar to what happened with the front-engine models. The fact is that the numbers ended up giving the reason to the brand, exceeding all expectations. It was planned to sell 25.000 units per year, but the first generation sold 276.652 units, approximately 35.000 cars per year.
