Christmas arrives early as Porsche slashes 2010 prices

PORSCHE Cars Australia has released its 2010 price list, which contains price cuts of more than $10,000 for its most popular sportscars.

As we forecast last month, the Stuttgart maker has slashed prices for next year as a result of the federal government’s five per cent import tariff reduction from January 1.

Porsche isn’t the first brand to pass on its savings to consumers – that honour went to Mazda, which announced immediate price cuts across its entire passenger car range in October, amounting to average savings of three per cent or $930 – and up to $2000.

Honda followed suit on December 1, when it announced price reductions of between $1500 and $3500 on its Japanese and UK-built models, plus a $1000 price cut for the Thai-built City light-car, which is already free from import duty due to the free trade agreement between Australia and Thailand.

As for Porsche, the entry-level Boxster is now $9800 more affordable in base 2.9-litre guise (now $105,000), while the 3.4-litre Boxster S is $10,900 less expensive at $131,000.

The biggest savings are reserved for buyers of the slower-selling Cayman mid-engined coupe, which now costs $114,000 (down $10,400) as a 2.9, while the 3.4-litre Cayman S price falls by some $11,300 to $146,000.

The most basic 911, the 3.6-litre Carrera Coupe, is $3900 cheaper at $220,800 (was $224,700), while the 3.8-litre Carrera S Coupe now costs $250,300 – down $4200.

Similar price reductions have been applied to the rest of the 911 Coupe, Cabriolet and Targa, while prices for the new 997 Series II 911 Turbo have been set at $360,100 for the coupe and $386,200 for the convertible. That’s down from $361,000 and $387,000 respectively.

As we reported last month, this month’s new 997 Series II 911 GT3 was launched at price of $281,600 - $24,700 pricier than the 997-series it replaces, because that model was subject to a 25 per cent luxury car tax rather than the current 33 per cent rate.

Now, however, the GT3’s price has dropped to $273,900 – even before first deliveries arrive in January – while the blistering new 911 GT3 RS will cost $337,700 when it arrives here in April.

Prices for both the Cayenne SUV and Panamera GT remain unchanged – the former because SUVs are already subject to the lower five per cent import duty rate the latter because PCA’s October launch prices already reflected the tariff saving.

Metallic paint will be a no-cost option on all 911 Carrera models from January 1, while Porsche continues to offer a three-year/unlimited factory warranty with all new cars, plus 10-year corrosion and three-year paint warranties and 24-hour roadside assist for the first three years of ownership.

All prices exclude on-road costs like dealer delivery and statutory charges.

2010 Porsche pricing:
Model	Manual price	PDK price	Change (m)
Boxster	$105,000	$110,300	-$9800
Boxster S	$131,000	$136,300	-$10,900
Boxster Spyder	$143,600	$148,900	N/A
Cayman	$114,000	$119,300	-$10,400
Cayman S	$146,000	$151,300	-$11,300
911 Carrera Coupe	$220,800	$227,600	-$3900
911 Carrera S Coupe	$250,300	$257,100	-$4200
911 Carrera Cabriolet	$242,900	$249,700	-$4200
911 Carrera S Cabriolet	$272,400	$279,200	-$4100
911 Carrera 4 Coupe	$238,800	$245,600	-$3900
911 Carrera 4S Coupe	$268,300	$275,100	-$3600
911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet	$260,900	$267,700	-$3700
911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet	$290,400	$297,200	-$3600
911 Targa 4	$260,400	$267,200	-$3900
911 Targa 4S	$289,900	$296,700	-$3800
911 GT3	$273,900	N/A	-$7700
911 GT3 RS	$337,700	N/A	N/A
911 Turbo Coupe	$360,100	$368,000	$900
911 Turbo Cabriolet	$386,200	$394,100	$800
Panamera S	N/A	$270,200 (Tip)	No change
Panamera 4S	N/A	$282,400 (Tip)	No change
Panamera Turbo	N/A	$364,900 (Tip)	No change
Cayenne	N/A	$102,500 (Tip)	No change
Cayenne diesel	N/A	$103,700 (Tip)	No change
Cayenne S	N/A	$146,900 (Tip)	No change
Cayenne GTS	N/A	$164,100 (Tip)	No change
Cayenne Turbo	N/A	$237,200 (Tip)	No change
Cayenne Turbo S	N/A	$281,400 (Tip)	No change