Luxury Cars: Outlook of the Future

Funny as it may seem, the car segment which is radically changing and undergoing a revolution right now isn’t the performance sector, nor the superminis. The GT-Rs and GT2s and Veyrons have pushed the envelope of racing technology, and as far as it goes, twin-clutched gearboxes and trick 4-wheel-drive is the best and the most radical it could muster. The Focus RS returns to its roots; 300bhp and FWD (which makes it less likely for you to kill yourself), as well as the Abarth (lightweight body with torquey engines). The only segment undergoing a revolution is clearly the luxury car segment.

The likes of the A8, 7-Series, and S-Class have, in a way, enjoyed monopolistic position and advantages in the relatively small but important segment over the years. It is these cars that represent the flagship of the company; these cars are fitted with crème-de-la-crème gadgets before slowly being mainstreamed to the rest of the range. The revolutionary ABS and Drive-by-Wire coming from the S-Class, the love-it-or-hate-it I-Drive, and the similar but simpler MMI all found their way to the lesser models over time.

Then there are the smaller players, such as the Phaeton, Phantom, Maybach, LS460, and Quattroporte which command a smaller share of the market overall, but somewhat a tour-de-force in their respective country; the Lexus in the US, the Volkswagen (tied with Audi) in China, and the Rolls-Royce in, well, Dubai?

What is there to revolutionize in this car segment, I hear you ask. Just get a car with the wheelbase of a truck, stuff the interior with exotic wood and dead animals, put in the largest engine available and there you have it; a luxury car. But think again. If the current crop of luxury cars and all its techno stuff is as far as it can go, then these two cars, to be launched soon, will have no purpose to exist: the Porsche Panamera and Lamborghini Estoque. And it ain’t the techno part that these two cars is pushing; it’s the design envelope.

These two cars could be the ugliest metal sheets you’ve ever seen, or the prettiest to your eyes. And this is where these two cars differ from mainstream. Is the A8 or the LS460 ugly? You wouldn’t call it hideous, nor you’ll call it pretty; their design is ‘safe’ as a luxury car, appealing to the young, but not offensive to the elderly (which can’t be said of the 7-Series, but that’s a different matter altogether.)

However, this where their similarities stop, for the reasons of existence are as different as myself to an otter. The Estoque, to begin with, was born to continue a historical path; to succeed the 4-seater Espada, but this time giving it 2 extra doors and a larger boot. The radically-designed Reventon-wannabe ought to be Lambo’s first four-door, four-seater (apart from the LM) and expect it to fill up the rear mirrors of the Gallardo on the autobahn, given its monstrous engine and performance. It targets Russians and Asians who had struck rich with their oil fields, though sales isn’t the main reason of its slow birth.

Which cant be said of the Panamera. Designed by Pininfarina, it serves to please the eye (though as I said, not all will think so). However, the design of the interior that is relatively similar to the mainstream Porsches and the use of engines shared with other models, makes it, in my opinion, less exclusive compared to the Estoque, and has more to do with chasing sales figures in the Middle East, which is exactly what’s done to the Cayenne, now the best selling model of the car maker. It seems to me that it’s the numbers that Porsche is after, and not the essence of building cars that lives up to its heritage, that Porsche is doing, given the financial setback its undergoing.

I hope I’m wrong about it, and although I’m not a Porsche fan, I have to admit they have been producing really fine cars over the years and its indeed sad to watch the once-exclusive brand being commercialized.