While Tesla’s flying Roadster concept is drawing attention for its unconventional technology, Porsche’s new Mission S supercar points to a different approach to performance. Karl Brauer, Executive Analyst at iSeeCars, joins today’s CBT Live segment to examine both vehicles and explain why demand for high-end performance cars remains strong even as affordability challenges mainstream buyers.
Brauer said the flying Roadster is “not very practical” and largely serves to promote integration between SpaceX and Tesla. Even so, he said the car could deliver serious performance, including extreme acceleration and downforce, if Tesla can make its complex systems work reliably.
Porsche, meanwhile, is pursuing profitability through distinctive performance vehicles rather than volume alone. Brauer said the Mission S reveal offered limited detail, but rumors of an internal combustion engine with a flat-plane crank could appeal to enthusiasts. He said Porsche’s new CEO has stated a goal of lower production and higher profit per model.
Brauer said that direction taps an “almost limitless appetite” among a core group of buyers for whom higher prices are not a problem, even as mainstream consumers face affordability pressure. He also sees some enthusiasts returning to engaging cars, pointing to used performance car values such as the 911, and said he would welcome more manual transmissions, internal combustion engines and hydraulic-assisted steering. On the mainstream side, Brauer said Kia’s biggest challenge is perception, noting that the vehicles could pass as British luxury cars without the badge.