TOPGEAR'S THREE-POINT PLAN TO FIX PORSCHE

Porsche's shiny new boss is an ex-Ferrari and McLaren supremo who spearheaded Porsche's first hybrids. But anyway, what does he know?

- WORDS OLLIE KEW

SINCE THE EARLY 2000s, PORSCHE HAS BEEN AN SUV COMPANY WITH A SIDELINE IN SPORTS CARS.

For the past few years it’s tried to pivot into being an EV company with a petrol side hustle.

But despite the Taycan and Macan Electric being undeniably good bits of kit, they’ve ended up symbolising EV jitters.

Taycan depreciation. Old petrol Macans outselling new ‘leccy ones. Fast-tracking combustion-powered SUVs to shore up the coffers. All while China shuns posh Euro-metal and America is trousering a fortune to import them. One ousted CEO later, new boss Michael Leiters has the task of steering the VW Group’s onetime cash tanker back on course.

His track record glints with success. After a previous life at Porsche where he introduced the first hybrid Cayenne, he left for Ferrari and oversaw technical development of all-timers like the 812 Superfast, 488 Pista and 296 GTB (and less loved but undeniably influential fodder like the SF90 and Purosangue).

Poached by archrivals McLaren, Leiters had to steer the Woking outfit through open-heart surgery, as the troubled Artura hybrid was delayed, the core V8 models aged, and the whole company was gobbled up by an offshoot of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund. Romantic.

Somehow, he stemmed the losses. Put McLaren on track to deliver a new family of models, while build quality improved. At last. Small wonder his old employer came knocking with an open chequebook and a snaking to-do list.

Leiters’ credentials are top class... but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a go too. TopGear’s had a high-powered overcaffeinated blue-sky thinking office powwow, and here’s what we’d do if we were in Stuttgart’s driving seat...

STEP 1 BALANCE THE BOOKS