Wall Street Journal, West, September 26, 1996, Page A9
Porsche Pins Its Hopes on the Boxster
New Car Will End Firm's Reliance on Single Model
By Brandon Mitchener
Staff Reporter of the Wall Street Journal
Excerpts:
Bergisch-Gladmach, Germany-
Porsche AG, the German sports car maker, just started production
of its first all-new car in 18 years, the two-seater Boxster...
...the Boxster is crucial to Porsche's long-term performance. Porsche's only other current model, the 911, is expected to undergo a major overhaul in about a year...
"Our biggest challenge is to establish new groups of purchasers with new products," Porsche Chairman Wandelin Wiedeking told reporters at the car's launch near Cologne...
...For now, [Porsche] is concentration on selling the Boxster. The first year's production is reportedly already sold out, and Porsche said it is confident it will sell 15,000 a year thereafter...
...Investors, meanwhile, are counting on an overall boom in roadster sales... to propel Porsche toward greater profitability.