'Porsche to target Ferrari buyers with new model'

German group Porsche is planning to develop a sportscar that would compete directly with the more exclusive Ferrari brand, its chief executive said.
"It always irritated me that the most expensive 911 tops out at 250,000 euros ($360,000) and then the 918 continues starting at 750,000 euros," Matthias Mueller told German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published on August 26.
"In between, Ferrari moseys around relatively comfortably and without any competition. That is where we need to be. There is still space for a larger sports car, one like the 959 that we built in the 1980s." He said such a model could cost 250,000-400,000 euros.
So far, the company had projected to have seven model lines, up from the four it is currently selling. A new, pricier sports car would be number eight.
Mueller has planned - in addition to the existing four model lines Boxster, 911, Cayenne and Panamera - a small mid-engine roadster patterned on the 550 Spyder, a smaller SUV dubbed the Cajun and a smaller version of the Panamera GT.
Volkswagen holds 49.9 percent of Porsche's sportscar business.