Volkswagen That Saved Porsche: The End of the Story

O fim do Volkswagen Touareg — will be discontinued in 2026 – It is also the end of an important chapter in the history of the German builder. A chapter made of wide ambition, but was also responsible for saving one of the most desired and vanglorious brands in the auto world, Porsche.

Therefore, he carries a legacy that few Volkswagen can complain. Launched in 2002, dictated Volkswagen’s entrance into the segment premium And it would be elevated to Wolfsburg brand “Standard” over three generations.

In the next lines we tell you the history of Volkswagen Touareg And from this partnership that was the “light at the back of the tunnel” of Porsche to break free once and for all the financial difficulties that had been struggling for years.

A well -defined goal

If it were possible to reduce the leadership of Ferdinand Piëch of the Volkswagen group, which began in 1993, a couple of words would be unmet ambition. Only in this way is the effort and impetus placed in its decision to raise the mark of the ‘car of the people’ to a Mercedes-Benz competitor.

O Phaeton would be the supreme symbol of this desire and ambition, a rival for the reference Class S of the star brand. But Touareg, which appeared almost a year later, would eventually become more relevant, even though he had a more discreet existence away from the spotlight than the media Phaeton.

Touareg not only represented Volkswagen’s entry into the SUV segment, but the project would be saved once and for all Porsche. Despite the fame, it was very close to ending in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but after a decisive first success, the BoxsterPorsche got the resources to make, perhaps, its most risky bet ever.

Wendelin Wiedeking, Porsche’s executive director at the time, needed to ensure the company’s financial solidity and found in the SUV the solution to all problems. Heresy? Perhaps. But the decision made proved to be prescient. SUVs were already popular in North America and continued to grow in sales tables – it was impossible not to have them into consideration.

The result? It has a name and is abundantly known: Porsche Cayenne. But before he came true, it was necessary to find a partner who would help her take this step. Initially tried with Mercedes-Benz, but the two parts never agreed- although they did it in the past with the 500 and. Yes, in an alternative reality, Porsche Cayenne could have been based on the first ML.

Ferdinand Piëch saw Porsche’s ambition a business opportunity with enormous potential and after negotiations with Mercedes-Benz failed, he would agree with Wiedeking in June 1998 for joint development of what would eventually be Touareg and Cayenne.

For Piëch it was gold on blue. On the one hand, it added a second model for ambitions premium Which he had for Volkswagen and the other, perhaps at a more personal level, contributed to saving the company founded by his grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche, of which he was also one of the main shareholders.

Well defined roles

A joint venture Between Volkswagen and Porsche very well defined the roles to play for each one in this project. Vehicle development and engineering (including PL71 platform) was in charge of Porsche. Volkswagen was responsible for the industrialization and assembly of the body, where it had the most experience.

But when Cayenne was revealed, it was anything but handsome. It remains today one of the most controversial releases ever. Fans of 911 They rejected the idea of a heavy SUV and many predicted their failure, without understanding why there would be Porsche to launch something that totally went against what the brand represented.

I didn’t help the fact that Cayenne wasn’t… attractive. The wedding of the 911 eternal lines with the bulky body of a SUV was difficult to digest… even today. Only we could not point to the fingers to the designers.

This is because to maintain the costs of this ambitious project under control, commitments have been made. Among which the sharing of external panels between the two SUVs, such as the doors, but also the windshields. Decision that eventually damaged Cayenne’s appearance than Touareg.

Controversies aside, it was a matter of (little) time for the risky bet of the Porsche to be vindicated. Cayenne quickly became its best -selling model and has driven the growth of the builder, commercially and financially, to pleasable levels at the time.

Without exaggeration, if Porsche arrived where we arrived we can only thank Cayenne and… to Touareg, or rather ambition and decision – once again right – by Ferdinand Piëch in “holding a hand” to Porsche.

Touareg, the black sheep?

Touareg once again seemed to play a secondary role in this relationship. Like Phaeton, the spotlight were all about Cayenne. But the Volkswagen SUV was not, not closely, a failure. Quite the contrary.

Discreetly conquered its market space, while Phaeton became commercially a footnote. In such a way that Touareg received a second generation… and a third (the current) and cemented, by its own merit, the Statute of the Statute of the Statter of Volkswagen.

Accounts made, it has won more than 1.1 million customers worldwide in these three generations, which is nonetheless remarkable for a brand without tradition in this segment and positioning.

The symbol on the grill could even be the same as the caroch and the golf, but this SUV looked at the eye to the eye premium Established, whether for the capacity, the technology, the luxurious features, but also the noble motorizations it equipped: from W12 to V10 TDI… A theme that we will revisit soon.

Admittedly, it could never truly get out of the shadow of competitors, even the nearest. Were it the Porsche Cayenne or, later, the Audi q7which resorted to the same technical basis. Between buying a large SUV and premium Volkswagen or other technically almost identical Porsche or Audiwhat would be your decision?

The price difference was not always significant, being a case to say, “Who gives the foot, gives the hand” – Do you realize where I want to go? Is that in the segment premium It is not enough to be good, the ostentatious symbol matters a lot to the market. And Volkswagen’s did not have and does not have the same weight or status as a star, a propeller – It’s not a propeller – or the four rings.

And although Touareg is “almost” the same car as Cayenne, the Q7 and until the Bentley BentaygaIn our pocket we continue to carry the key to a Volkswagen, the key to a car whose name literally means “people’s car.”