Porsche Small Car: Sizzling Hot Hatch
Motoring Channel Staff - 10/June/2008
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 This rendering of a Porsche high performance small car could arrive in Europe around 2012
 VW Scirocco - precursor to a Porsche super hatch?
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Stuttgart, Germany — According to a respected German car magazine, Porsche is developing a hot hatch. Rumoured
to be set for a 2012 launch and possibly based on the VW Golf
platform, the baby Porsche would compete against the BMW 1 Series, Mini
Cooper S and Audi's upcoming A1 and S1 models. While Porsche
die-hards are already railing against such a move, correctly
arguing that a cheap compact sports hatch would reduce the brand's
prestige, the decision would no doubt boost revenues for Porsche. At
the end of the day, shareholders will demand more revenue, so the
chance of seeing a new Porsche model after the launch of the upcoming
Panamera 4-door sports sedan - whether a compact hatch or perhaps a new
compact SUV - are very likely. The German magazine that broke the
story, AutoBild, is calling the new model the Porsche-Golf because it
may be based on the Golf platform. Porsche's rumoured pocket rocket could also use a number of components from the upcoming VW Scirocco, upon which these CG renders appear to be based. Porsche
and Volkswagen have had a close working relationship since the joint
venture between the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne came about, and with
Porsche trying to take over the Volkswagen Group the two companies
could end up merging in future. Keeping with the its exotic
branding, Porsche would likely offer a BMW 1 Series rival with its new
super hatch. Here's one scenario: Power would come from a
front-mounted 4-cylinder (possibly boxer) turbo or supercharged engine
from the Volkswagen group with around 170kW (228hp). This
small engine would power the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual or
7-speed dual-clutch transmission, and options would include PASM
(Porsche active suspension management) and possibly a more powerful 'S'
model with aero and engine optimisation.
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