Carlos from Spain:
A 3-series Porsche will be a mistake IMO, it may be succesful in sales but it will damage the brand image of Porsche tremendously, a Cayenne, or Panamera is one thing, even the Cajun, but getting into the mid-size 4-door sedan market will put a whole different label on the brand image of the company so they better consider that.
A lot of Porsche connoisseurs share these worries but I'm not so sure any more. The Cayenne is currently the most successful Porsche regarding production/sales numbers, so do the math. Porsche can only survive in the VW group if they expand their model range and try to share more technology with other products in the VW group. The strategy here will be different because Porsche doesn't really have to protect their independence anymore, they already lost it.
Interesting times ahead of us but if people are willing to pay 200k for an AMG Mercedes, I'm pretty sure they're going to do the same with a Porsche sedan.
Practicality is a different story too, I'm pretty sure that there are lots of potential customers for a cheaper Porsche sedan.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW