The Chicago Auto Show is now open to the public through the 19th of February. Porsche brought ten cars and a gorgeous display to the show, so we spent a bit of time walking through it. Being that we were there during the show’s media days last week, we were able to get a few photographs of the lineup without having to negotiate through a room full of looky-loos.
As you can see from the main shot above, the floor was split in half with the sports car lineup on the right, and the sedans, wagons, and SUVs taking up the left. One base model Macan, one new Cayenne Turbo, three Panameras (a Turbo S e-Hybrid, a 4S e-Hybrid, and a non-electrified 4S), three 911s (a GTS Targa, a GT2 RS, and the new Carrera T), as well as 718 GTS’ in Boxster and Cayman variety. The average price of this 10-car display came out to $153,993, with the four-cylinder Macan and the Cayman GTS being the only two boasting MSRPs below the 6-figure threshold.
We spent our time getting in and out of every Porsche on the display, taking care to notice the differences in each. It was nice to see the new Cayenne’s interior, much the same as the interior in the Panamera, featuring haptic feedback touch ‘buttons’, a large center screen, and the new Sport Chrono steering wheel with mode switch. The Cayenne also featured the Burmeister audio, which we carefully compared to the Bose system in the Panamera that sat next to it. Both sounded largely similar to my ears, and an audiophile friend of the site accompanying us said he actually preferred the less expensive Bose audio for its warmth and more rear-biased sound stage.
Seeing the 911 Carrera T in person actually helped to justify this car in the 911 lineup, I think. It’s just enough of a gimmick mixed with just enough really cool bits to make it worth looking into if you’re in the Porsche sports car market. Having driven a few 991.2 generation cars, I can firmly say that the one with the least options is the best choice, but this sure does look cool with a factory widebody. This particular Porsche was shown with the no-cost-option PCM audio module, but we would absolutely have this one without audio for proper lightweight awesome. The rear glass, as you can see in the photo above, does not have a defrost, and could make for a really cool weight loss retrofit in your sporty 991. I was skeptical of the car’s grey-accent features (mirror, wheels, and more), but seeing them in person, especially on a Speed Yellow car, they look properly great. That rear-seat-delete is really cool, too.
More Photos Courtesy of Photographer Laud Okoh of At you Photography
