skip to nav

The economics of Porsche

What will sales of the new 911 reveal about our finances, asks neil lyndon
.

A Porsche is not merely a car, because it carries so many connotations that extend beyond itself (including, in Britain, "Can that bloke possibly be as much of a berk as he is making himself look?").

One of the brand's more useful and least recognised functions is as an indicator for the economy at large; and the most sensitive pointer in the range is the drop-top 911 Turbo Cabrio - a new version of which appears this autumn.

Among the first signs of impending recession in the early Nineties was the collapse of Porsche sales. The yuppie boom of the late Eighties had brought

 

 

surging sales of all Porsche models, but these suddenly halved in 1990, and by 1992 (by which time a quarter of a million people had lost their homes) they were at only a quarter of their former level.

A graph of Porsche sales in the 2000s might show them rocketing almost in line with house price inflation, but new car registrations in 2006 recorded a disquieting dip in Porsche


 

ADVERTISEMENT