![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/images.topgear.com.ph\/topgear\/images\/2026\/07\/30\/tguk-three-point-plan-to-save-porsche-5-1785394374.webp\")
ILLUSTRATION: Topgear.com<\/p>\nSince the early 2000s, Porsche has been an SUV company with a sideline in sports cars. For the past few years, it\u2019s tried to pivot into being an EV company with a petrol side hustle. But despite the Taycan and Macan Electric being undeniably good bits of kit, they\u2019ve ended up symbolizing EV jitters.<\/p>\n
Taycan depreciation. Old petrol Macans outselling new electric ones. Fast-tracking combustion-powered SUVs to shore up the coffers. All while China shuns posh Euro-metal and America is trousering a fortune to import them. One ousted CEO later, new boss Michael Leiters has the task of steering the VW Group\u2019s one-time cash tanker back on course.<\/p>\n
ILLUSTRATION: Topgear.com<\/p>\n
His track record glints with success. After a previous life at Porsche where he introduced the first hybrid Cayenne, he left for Ferrari and oversaw technical development of all-timers like the 812 Superfast, 488 Pista<\/a>, and 296 GTB<\/a>\u00a0(and less loved but undeniably influential fodder like the SF90 and Purosangue).<\/p>\n ALSO READ: Poached by archrivals McLaren, Leiters had to steer the Woking outfit through open-heart surgery, as the troubled Artura hybrid was delayed, the core V8 models aged, and the whole company was gobbled up by an offshoot of Abu Dhabi\u2019s sovereign wealth fund. Romantic.<\/p>\n Somehow, he stemmed the losses. Put McLaren on track to deliver a new family of models, while build quality improved. At last. Small wonder his old employer came knocking with an open\u00a0checkbook and a snaking to-do list.<\/p>\n Leiters\u2019 credentials are top class… but that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t have a go, too. Top Gear\u2019s had a high-powered, overcaffeinated blue-sky thinking office pow-wow, and here\u2019s what we\u2019d do if we were in Stuttgart\u2019s driving seat\u2026<\/p>\n Step 1: Balance the books<\/p>\n Porsche\u2019s handsome profits plummeted 93% to \u20ac90 million (Around P6.339 billion) in 2025. How to make savings and conjure quick-fire cash?<\/p>\n First off, we\u2019d cut our losses on the electric Boxster<\/a>. Porsche\u2019s share price actually rose early this year when rumors circulated that Leiters had sidelined the project. It\u2019s since been confirmed to still be on course, albeit with petrol \u2018top models.\u2019 But how can you swing an EV entry-level sports car with petrol GT4s when EVs are pricier than ICE?<\/p>\n We say: Bin off the \u2018mid-batteried\u2019 platform to Audi for the new TT, then farm it out to VW as a halo product (ID.Scirocco) and even sprinkle some glitter on Cupra. They don\u2019t have the sports car heritage that makes a Porsche EV two-seater sacrilegious (for now).<\/p>\n Next up, slim down the bloated 911 range. There are 21 versions of the rear-engined icon right now. AWD Cabrios, Carreras base, \u2018S\u2019 and \u2018T.\u2019 Not a single one can be had for under \u00a3100,000 (P8.212 million). The 911 is being stretched too thinly over multiple roles as a sports car, boulevard cruiser, and all-out supercar. And follow the GT department\u2019s lead on power: No one is bothered that the GT3 has flatlined around 500hp for a decade. That noise and character are 10 times as exciting as warp-drive e-turbos and 1,000bhp.<\/p>\n Lastly, merge the Taycan and the Panamera. With China\u2019s appetite for long-wheelbase Eurobarges withering, Porsche makes two four-door\u00a0sedans which are no longer the flavor of the month. Sum up the sedans into one five-door liftback model which, like BMW\u2019s successful i7, supports petrol, hybrid and full EV power. Surely that platform could also support the next Cayenne, plus Bentayga, and Urus MkII? We\u2019ll leave the techy bits up to the Germans…<\/p>\n Step 2: Refine the designs<\/p>\n Okay, we\u2019ve shed the flab. Now we need to make people want a Porsche like they used to. That means bringing back the glory days of Porsche design common sense.<\/p>\n Electric pop-out door handles are banished. We\u2019ll reintroduce the pop-out adjustable cupholders from the 991 and outgoing Cayman\u2014an elegant space saver that doesn\u2019t afflict gear-changing like the 992\u2019s MegaGulp receptacle.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll also lean into the Singer-esque love of retro<\/a> and introduce an Analogue Interior Pack. Watch it become Porsche\u2019s most profitable option. For a modest sum, you can swap out the dashboard screens for classic dials. Knurled temperature knobs replace touchscreen heater menus. Starter buttons out, twisty keys return.<\/p>\n Also heading for the scrapheap: a total ban on LED light bars. Okay, so Porsche design has never been the most radical brush in the painter\u2019s palette, but all these dull lightsabers slapped across the arses of Taycans, 911s, Macans and Panameras smacks of laziness.<\/p>\n Step 3: Make the future exciting<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to be a car company right now. Trust us, we\u2019re having a go. Meeting every law, every political whim, every customer trend, and trying to be cool at the same time is an impossible task. But there are projects which could bring back that luster of \u2018anything is possible\u2019 to Porsche.<\/p>\n Foremost: A\u00a0new analogue supercar. There\u2019s a reason it\u2019s radio silence on the all-EV Mission X forming a new Holy Trinity alongside the turbo-hybrid Ferrari F80 and McLaren W1: No one wants e-supercars. So, go the other way. Lean into what\u2019s made 911 RS, S\/Ts and Carrera GTs go up in value like anti-apocalypse bunkers.<\/p>\n Imagine a lengthened GT3 RS engine\u2014a nat-asp flat-eight revving to 9,000rpm and beyond\u2014with some e-assist for town, and a beechwood manual gear lever. All wrapped up in that 919 Street concept shell Porsche showed off a few years ago. Make 500 at a million quid a pop. A bargain next to a GMA T.50. You\u2019d sell them three times over.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, shout louder about the e-fuels program. When Porsche announced it\u2019d set up a synthetic petrol plant in Chile<\/a> in 2022, the car world rejoiced\u2014this would surely be the moment that hobby driving was saved. But it\u2019s gone ominously quiet. Sure, it\u2019s powering the Porsche Supercup race series, and there\u2019s a vague promise about Porsche-petrol going on sale by the end of the decade, but that might be too little too late.<\/p>\n Lastly, if all of the above has gone to plan (and we see literally no reason why it wouldn\u2019t\u2014Stuttgart, you have our office number), then take a look to the past. What saved Porsche time and again were cars like the 924, the original Boxster, and the Cayenne. Affordable cars that people were telling you they wanted.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t just chase the billionaire bonuses. That\u2019ll get you out of a hole now, but by losing sight of the grassroots car lover\u2019s aspirations, it\u2019ll drive you into a bigger one later. Recycle the front half of a 911 and give us a new mid-engined baby Porsche for safely under \u00a350k (P4.1 million). People will even forgive that flat-four turbo engine now\u2014it\u2019s not electric…<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com<\/a>. Minor edits have been made.<\/p>\n See Also<\/p>\n
First drive: Even as a prototype, the Ferrari Luce is exquisitely engineered<\/a>
Ooh, BYD\u2019s Defender fighter is set to debut on Land Rover\u2019s home turf<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/images.topgear.com.ph\/topgear\/images\/2026\/07\/30\/tguk-three-point-plan-to-save-porsche-6-1785394374.webp\")
PHOTO BY Porsche<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/images.topgear.com.ph\/topgear\/images\/2026\/07\/30\/tguk-three-point-plan-to-save-porsche-1-1785394373.webp\")
PHOTO BY Porsche<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/images.topgear.com.ph\/topgear\/images\/2026\/07\/30\/tguk-three-point-plan-to-save-porsche-2-1785394374.webp\")
PHOTO BY Topgear.com<\/p>\n
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