MICHAEL MAUER - ‘It takes courage not to change'

THE 911 REMAINS AT THE HEART OF PORSCHE, AND ITS DESIGN CHIEF WANTS THE SAME SPIRIT TO INSPIRE EVERYTHING IT DOES, FROM EVS TO SUVS

- GAVIN GREEN

OUR TOUR GUIDE for the Porsche Museum is Michael Mauer, Porsche’s chief designer. Towards the end of our tour, Mauer is showing us the many cars he was responsible for designing. They include the 991 and 992 versions of the 911, the 918 Spyder, the Macan, the Panamera, and the latest 718-generation Boxster and Cayman. In fact, Mauer is responsible for every new Porsche since he took over as design boss in 2004, replacing Dutchman Harm Lagaay.

Michael Mauer showing us around the Porsche Museum is a bit like Salvador Dalí or Andy Warhol giving us a tour of the Tate Modern, or Caravaggio showing us around the Uffizi. A star showing us his work and those of his peers. Porsche has had only four design directors in its history. The first was Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, eldest son of company founder Ferry and credited with the original 911.

“Change helps to keep an organisation young and fresh, but on the other hand, there is the risk you lose the connection from one car to the next. I believe if you want to build a strong brand identity, you need continuity. I’m happy that while most of the car industry, like the fashion industry, has been trying to make quite radical styling changes quite quickly, we’ve resisted. Sometimes it takes more courage not to do everything that new technology makes possible. I’m very happy Porsche didn’t fall into this trap. We have an anchor in this fast-changing world. I believe there’s no point changing unless it’s to make it better.”