He's in a suit, but you get the feeling that Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development of Porsche AG, would rather have his jacket and tie off, his shirtsleeves rolled up and his fingernails caked in oil. With a CV that includes developing BMW's legendary S14 engine - of BMW E30 M3 fame - he's in Los Angeles to oversee the unveiling of the Porsche Macan, a car that he admits comfortably laps the Nordschleife in less than eight minutes 30 seconds - sports car territory.
It's impossible to ignore the significance of the Macan, the compact performance SUV certain to make a big impact on Porsche's bottom line when the 50,000 cars a year start rolling off the production lines. All are turbocharged, all have the PDK automatic transmission and four-wheel drive and all underline Porsche's ambitious and incredible diversification in the last couple of decades. He concedes that Porsche's model range is about as diverse (a few future derivatives aside) as it's likely to ever be, but adds that sports cars remain at the very core of the brand.
"I drive 95% of my time in 911s," says Hatz. That's more often than not one of the company cars, but he's also got a 1988 930 Turbo in his garage. He laughs at the idea that its performance is legendary, saying today it doesn't seem so fast, not being able to keep up with his usual 300km/h commuting speed in Germany. Just 205km/h in the 930. That the 911 Turbo Cabriolet and Turbo S Cabriolet have been overlooked at the LA show is something of a shame, he says, but the Macan is such a big introduction it's hardly surprising.
The range will broaden in time; a lesser V6, a faster diesel and plug-in hybrids will come, but for now the Macan is concentrated at the higher performance end of the compact SUV sphere, its abilities firmly in the sports car realm. With even Porsche's SUV offerings pushing the boundaries of performance on the road Hatz admits that, increasingly, the company is looking to open Experience Centres like that in Silverstone. He's just back from the LA one, and with Atlanta on line soon Hatz confirmed to us that Porsche has plans to open another at Le Mans. This sends the PR machine into overdrive, the corporate backpedalling stating that such plans are very much in their infancy.
Even so, Hatz is enthused at the prospect of a Porsche Experience Centre at somewhere the company could conceivably call its spiritual home, the 24-hour race synonymous with the marque. It, along with the other centres, will allow customers to really experience their cars on the track. Hatz is saddened by the fact that it's increasingly difficult to do so on the road. There's fun to be had, but the performance is such that limits are easily broken.
Performance gains in the future will be as much about maximising potential by losing mass as much as any increases in power. "We could build a super lightweight car," states Hatz, but it would have to be stripped, and full of compromises as a result. He describes the 918 Spyder as the most advanced car of its type in the world, though states that carbon monocoque construction isn't likely to make it onto the next 911, simply because it's too slow to produce.
The advantages aren't as big as people think either, Hatz saying that the potential weight saving is only about 20kg, so carbon fibre's chief appeal is its stiffness. "With magnesium and aluminium, the right materials in the right place can be a good mix" he says. He also says that, while Porsche is looking at four-cylinder engines, it'll not be for the 911. He doesn't rule out the Cayman or Boxster receiving such an engine. Thankfully he also says that there will be no removal of manual transmissions from the sports car range, even if they're sold in tiny numbers.
Kyle Fortune - 27 Nov 2013
