Porsche

Does model reveal 2015 Porsche 911?

A Porsche always looks good, and the joke gift when someone says they want one is the model. If someone you know is interested in the new Porsche 911, you may actually be best to pick up the scale model for a design insight.

Porsche was meant to reveal its new 911 GT3 RS this summer but decided to delay its arrival following the discovery of a fault with the 3.8-liter flat-six engine in the 911 GT3 that the 911 GT3 RS was to share, albeit in uprated form. The German automaker is yet to announce when we might finally see the covers come off, but has the car already been revealed… in scale model form?

This photo of a 911 scale model was posted on the website 4WheelsNews and may potentially depict the new 911 GT3 RS. The scale model is clearly based on the latest 991-series 911 GT3, but some unique elements suggest that it is actually representing the more extreme RS variant.

Those elements include wheels styled like those fitted to prototypes for the new 911 GT3 RS, an oversized rear wing also like the one on previous prototypes, and some new vents on the front fenders not seen on the regular 911 GT3.

Hopefully we’ll find out soon, because it seems that with each passing month more and more rumors concerning the new 911 GT3 RS start to emerge. These include the possibility that the car will be turbocharged, and that it may also end up replacing the 911 GT2 as the most extreme 911 variant. We’ve also heard that it will come with Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch transmission only, as well as the automaker’s new rear-wheel-steering system.

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1028807_2015-porsche-911-gt3-rs-revealed-in-scale-model-form

Luxury car growth is never ending in North America

Luxury Car growth world wide is going from strength to strength with some promising figures already emerging for 2014. North America are not alone in their appreciation of luxury and style, but here lets take a look at who is performing well in the States.

U.S. auto sales turned out to have an incredible month of sales in May. The news was good almost universally (except for the VW brand), but the luxury car market just seems to have no end in sight in North America. What we have not done was to break out sales prices and incentives in the luxury market as a whole.

What is obvious is that the luxury market just keeps on chugging higher and higher once you look at the sales data.

Can some of this be attributed to new model launches? In some cases. Still, the numbers just look strong by almost every account. We took a look at North American sales of Porsche, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Land Rover for the month of May. Even the used luxury market looked strong when the companies discussed it.

Porsche said that its May sales of 4,609 vehicles was bumped by the mid-May launch of the 2015 Macan S and Macan Turbo (1,263 units). Porsche said that this beats last year’s record sales number by 17.3 percent. It was also the best ever sales month for Porsche in the U.S. Porsche even went on to say that its two-door sports cars and Panamera have continued strong sales performance gains from 2013, and that the demand for Cayenne still outstrips the supply. Porsche even went on to say that its Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicle sales in May were up 17 percent at 994 units.

Mercedes-Benz said that May was the company’s fifth record sales month Of 2014, with its Mercedes-Benz brand sales up 7.7% to 26,617 units. Total sales were represented as being up over 8% to 29,570 units if you blend the Mercedes-Benz, Sprinter and smart model lines. The group’s top sellers in May were its C-, E- and M-Class model lines, with the E-Class up over 25 percent to 6,168 vehicles. Its high-end flagship S-Class volume of 2,173 was up over 82% from the same month last year.

BMW Group U.S. also posted a record May for its BMW brand, in part from the launch of the BMW i3. BMW and MINI combined sales in May were up over 13% to 35,331 vehicles, but sales of BMW brand vehicles rose by more than 17 percent in May for a total of 29,602 vehicles. The BMW i3 has now officially launched, with its first month’s sales totaling 336 units. BMW Pre-Owned Vehicles also rose by 14 percent to 18,064 vehicles. Management even talked up this summer –

“This will be the summer of BMW with the new M3 and M4 on sale this month and the new X4 and 4 Series Gran Coupe coming in July.”

Audi said that this was its best U.S. May sales in the company’s history, and second-best any-month tally period – with it being the 41st consecutive U.S. sales record. Its sales rose to 16,601 powered both by the new entry-level model, A3, and by the brand’s high-end cars. Diesels accounted for 11.5% to 28.2% of sales.

Jaguar and Land Rover have shown that May sales rose 17 percent, to 5,840 units (according to USA Today) – for the best May unit sales report since 2007. The Range Rover Sport redesign had record May sales of 1,496 units for a gain of 35 percent. Sale of the crossover Range Rover Evoque rose a sharp 59 percent to 1,196 sales. Jaguar sales were up 14% in May, led by its F-series sports car coupe and convertible and by the XK sedan.

Source Is There No End to Luxury Car Sales Growth in America? – 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/autos/2014/06/03/is-there-no-end-to-luxury-car-sales-growth-in-america/#ixzz33khuqNoI

3 Ways Digital Innovation Is Driving Engagement In The Luxury Car …

If you like to keep up to date on the latest gadgets and technology AND like stylish luxury cars, you need to read The Future of Luxury’s 3 ways  luxury car manufacturers have harnessed digital platforms as part of a strategy to tackle poor performance in the luxury car market.

The luxury car sector has long been a leader in adopting the latest technology for design, manufacture and in-car systems however, luxury car brands are now increasingly turning to digital tech to entice customers before they’ve even taken a test drive in a bid to create powerfully engaging experiences.

1. Porsche – Augmented Reality App

Designed to support the launch of the Panamera in the Middle East, Porsche’s augmented reality iPad app gives potential customers a chance to explore the car’s capabilities through a highly interactive experience. Using augmented reality enables Porsche to bring the vehicle’s features to life in a more meaningful and impactful way than a simple brochure description could ever hope to achieve.

 

Steve Blyth of Engage, creators of the AR app, described it as providing “a unique and immersive experience” created to achieve the objectives set by Porsche of  “a high-level view of the product and brand as well as an introduction to the Panamera’s features.”

In the showroom, car each feature 5 markers that trigger the iPad app to provide detailed content about the car’s features in the form of texts, images, animations and video.

Online and offline are connected through data capture, with additional information revealed to users who supply their email address via the app. This data is then used by Porsche sales teams to follow up leads.

2. Audi – Digital Showrooms

Earlier this year, in addition to locations in London and Beijing, Audi opened another of its digital showrooms in Berlin. Featuring  interactive touchscreens, the showrooms allow customers to explore the range by personalising  Audi cars to their own specifications. A significant advantage of the digital showroom for both customers and brands is the lack of space restrictions. Although only 4 models are on display in the showroom, all 49 models in the Audi range can be viewed and interacted with using the multi-media screens.

 

Creating immersive experiences is central to success in today’s market; Audi’s head of sales in Germany, Wayne Griffiths commented,  “staging the brand is becoming so much more important.”  The success of this venture has been reflected by the footfall generated with Audi Beijing reporting 8,000 visitors per week , 60% of whom were new to the Audi brand.

3.   Volkwagen Group – Mobile Game

Mobile gaming was recently used by the Volkswagen Group to bring consumers closer to their premium sports car brands which includes a roll-call of some of the world’s most sought after cars – Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche.

Designed to bring each car to life through immersive gameplay, the ‘Sports Car Challenge 2’ app (available on android and iOS 7), allows  consumers to engage with vehicles through hyper-realistic, 3D product interaction.

 

Game features include the ability to compete for a position on the global leader board and a chance to take part in time trials with the ‘Ghost race’ feature helping to build racing talents. In addition, the immersive experience lets users customise gameplay through a choice of racing environments, driving conditions as well as offering the ability to customise the cars themselves.

Kristien Wendt of Proelios, creators of the ‘Sports Car Challenge 2’ app,  highlighted the growing importance of mobile platforms to increase customer engagement, “Because of the accessibility, brand engagement, reach, measurement through data analytics and the hugely realistic worlds we can now create on mobile, clients are looking at how we integrate mobile gaming into campaigns, how we can connect, measure and interact with offline media such as outdoor posters and print advertising, and how we can use the gaming platform to generate greater consumer loyalty.”

Gamifying the app drives repeat engagement with consumers, creates greater reach opportunities, lets users build an affinity with the vehicles and ultimately, bridges the gap between virtual and real-life brand interaction.

http://thetoptier.net/index.php/home/luxury-vehicles-a-sports-cars/2947-3-ways-digital-innovation-is-driving-engagement-in-the-luxury-car-market