We are in the impeccably tidy workshop of the Porsche center in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine). Suddenly a crackle breaks the silence, followed by a low growl; the modulation is hoarse, as if the deep voice of a machine was heard; the noise rolls, slows down, hesitates then increases and ends up saturating the space … One of the technicians has just started a 911 Turbo and this “melody” is the sound of the 450 horsepower of the six-cylinder engine flat out of the car – the “Flat six”, say the connoisseurs – a monument to automobile engines.
This mechanical symphony is the object of an authentic cult. Fans pride themselves on recognizing her with their eyes closed, and hundreds converge on the headquarters in Stuttgart (Germany) every time a Porsche Sound Nacht (a “night of Porsche sound”). The last, in 2018, brought together 4,000 aficionados who came to listen to a “concert” of thirteen models, including some six 911. The event took place in the Porsche Arena, a sports venue in the capital of Baden-Württemberg, because the the brand’s museum, which previously hosted the event, had grown too small. After two years of hiatus, the next Sound Nacht is scheduled for September 2021.
Now, now, at the time of the CO hunt2, this culture seems today in danger. And, to the dismay of the brand’s most ardent worshipers, the “threat” comes from within. The Volkswagen group, the company’s parent company, has embarked on forced electrification and decarbonation. Porsche is supporting the movement, declaring that it wants to be carbon neutral by 2030. In less than ten years!
An incredible bet, a high risk
“This is the biggest, deepest and fastest transformation in the brand’s history, says Detlev von Platen, member of the Porsche executive committee responsible for sales and marketing. By 2025, 50% of the models we will sell worldwide will have an electric motor. In 2030, it will be 80%. ” Symbol of this resolution: the successor to the bestseller, the Macan SUV, probably unveiled at the end of 2022, will be 100% electric.
The bet is truly unheard of. And the risk, high. Because the brand is not just a pawn in the Volkswagen empire. Not only because the Porsche family remains the reference shareholder of the global giant (31.4% of the capital and 53.1% of the voting rights), but above all because this sports subsidiary is THE nugget among the assets of the group with twelve brands. . With its 272,000 sales in 2020, the Stuttgart firm is by far the world number one, in volume, in premium motor sport. The BMW M and Mercedes-AMG do not exceed 150,000 vehicles sold, Maserati tops out at 36,500, Ferrari is around 10,000, Lamborghini 7,500…
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