Autocar confidential: Cayenne Turbo GT customers, Skoda performs in India and more
Our reporters pore over their notebooks and round up a week of gossip in the automotive world
In this week’s edition of Autocar confidential, Lamborghini explains the scope of the Aventador Ultimae, Porsche identifies its target market for the Cayenne Turbo GT and Skoda becomes Volkswagen Group’s most popular brand in India.
*Turbo GT target market*
The new Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT is a 631bhp SUV with supercar pace that costs £20,000 more than the new 911 GT3 supercar. Who will buy it, and what will they do with it? Sales and marketing boss Dirk Britzen explained: “We’re speaking and appealing to a very specific target group of customers with this car. Customers who are quite conscious and deliberate, wanting to go for the most powerful Cayenne. They know what they’re buying.” Promisingly, he added: “That customership is, on average, willing and able to give the car a spin on the race track.”
*Ultimae isn’t a hybrid preview*
The commemorative Ultimae edition of the Lamborghini Aventador brings bespoke design elements but doesn’t preview its hybrid successor, CEO Stefan Winkelmann has told Autocar. He said: “The Ultimae is a design that comes out of the tradition of the Aventador. The follow-up will be a completely different cup of tea, much like going from the Murciélago to the Aventador.”
*Skoda impresses for VAG in India*
Skoda has become the Volkswagen Group’s lead brand in India, and design boss Oliver Stefani says customers there have some unique design demands. “It’s a very different market, especially with sub-four-metre cars. People want rugged-looking cars that look like they can survive the Indian traffic,” he explained. “And the colour white is very popular: you think about India and all these super-bright colours, but when you look at the roads, most cars are white.”
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