Porsche looked to its past and future at the 89th Geneva Motor Show…
These are interesting times for the traditional motor show format. The recent 89th Geneva Motor Show certainly wasn’t short on industry buzz, but in terms of new car debuts it was, generally speaking, a relatively quiet affair. Nowhere was that more evident than on the Porsche stand.
Having already revealed the new 992 Cabriolet a number of weeks previous, Porsche had no surprises on offer in Switzerland. In terms of new metal the highlight of the brand’s stand was the aforementioned new Cabriolet, the Boxster and Cayman T models, and the Macan S – all vehicles the world had already seen.
“With each new generation of the 911, we face the challenge of enhancing our iconic car carefully and yet consistently to meet the needs of the future,” said Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche, Oliver Blume at the press conference as he stood in front of the latest drop top 911.
With nothing particularly new or exciting to talk about, Porsche instead focused on its past – namely the fact that it had been exhibiting vehicles at Geneva for 70-years. As such the other star of its stand was a classic 911 complete with skis on its roof.
Away from the official Porsche stand, as was always the case at Geneva, it was RUF that stole the show. Its stand featured a number of exciting reworked Porsches, this year marks the 80th anniversary of Alois Ruf Sr. founding his repair business. To celebrate RUF debuted the 2019 RUF GT – a 991 GTS based creation boasting 515hp, and a production-ready RUF CTR Anniversary.
The CTR Anniversary is a 30th anniversary tribute to the famed CTR Yellowbird. First revealed as a concept at the 2017 show, this time RUF brought along a production version of its 700hp, carbon fibre chassis, Anniversary creation. Only 30 will be built.