At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, Porsche caused more than a ripple of excitement, not with its revamped 911s – a company staple since its debut in 1963 – but with the brand-new and voluptuous Mission E – a fully electric powered sports car that has now left the concept stage and is being readied for prime time as the Porsche Taycan. Production of the highly-anticipated vehicle – invariably described in the trade press as Tesla’s worst nightmare – is expected to start next year. With over 600HP, the Mission E barrels from 0-100 km/hr in under 3.5 seconds, approaching to within a whisker the industry benchmark set by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

In Switzerland, the excitement was palpable. Though perhaps a bit late to the game – the company doggedly refused to embrace experimental technologies and pass the inevitable teething troubles on to its customers. Porsche’s first all-electric vehicle is also the first true luxury e-sports car delivered by a major manufacturer – one that is able to sustain production levels and possesses the engineering prowess and experience to deliver on its promises.

At Porsche Schweiz, CEO Michael Glinski is ready to deploy his team’s passion for the brand to ensure a smooth transition to electric. Earlier this year, Mr Glinski added a customer experience manager to his staff charged with optimising the brand’s response to feedback from owners: “It is all about taking care of the excitement factor throughout the car’s lifecycle. A Porsche owner needs to know and feel that the company is a true partner that can be depended upon.”

Beyond Standards

To call Porsche Schweiz merely customer-centric does an injustice to the business: “We are not guided by standardised customer relation practices, however well these work for others. At Porsche Schweiz, we maintain the highest standards as a matter of course, but refuse to compromise and subject our buyers to the indignity of a faux-bespoke approach that in reality is little more than a one-size-fits-all policy with a few added whistles. Buying a Porsche, let alone driving one, is a unique experience. At Porsche Schweiz, we understand this better than most and have tailored our entire operation to reflect the heritage and quality of the brand and the attendant experience.”

Porsche and Switzerland have a history that reaches back in time to the legendary 356 – the company’s first production car and without doubt one of the coolest speedsters ever made. The brand would possibly not have existed but for an attentive Swiss car buff and salesman who in 1948 placed the first-ever order at the struggling factory then located in Gmünd in Kärnten, Austria: five 356s and an option for fifty more.

Rupprecht von Senger also convinced Ferrie Porsche – son of the celebrated Dr Ing Ferdinand Porsche – to showcase his 356 at the Geneva Motor Show where it promptly caused the normally underwhelmed and rather stoic Swiss to lavish abundant praise on its remarkable design with journalists waxing lyrical about this never-before-seen cross between a Volkswagen and an Auto Union racing car. The original 356s sold in Switzerland by Mr Von Senger have since become the holy grail of car collectors.

Porsche Reigns Supreme

Porsche Schweiz builds on that rich heritage in the knowledge that Swiss car enthusiasts kickstarted the brand – and have remained loyal to it ever since. Mr Glinski recognises that the country’s legendary network of autobahns, crisscrossing the Alps and meandering through lush green valleys hemmed in between snow-capped mountains, calls for an equally legendary motor.

Nearly every town in the country boasts a car club, often based at an abandoned airfield-turned-speedway. In this universe Porsche reigns supreme. The passion of the enthusiasts is shared by the Porsche Schweiz CEO: “This culture helps us a lot and preserves the brand’s high-profile as well. Of course, our business is run along strictly professional lines, but within those confines there remains plenty of room for passion – at that is precisely what set Porsche Schweiz apart.”

Arriving at Porsche Schweiz from the company’s headquarters in Zuffenhausen, a northern district of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Mr Glinski is – for lack of a more fitting description – the corporate match of a motor head – he lives and breathes the brand. Before taking over as CEO of Porsche Schweiz, on the first of January, Mr Glinski served six years as area director for Western Europe. Prior to that, he was finance director at Porsche France and area sales manager for Italy, Spain, and Latin America.

In Switzerland, Mr Glinski is charged with the implementation of Strategy 2025 – an ambitious undertaking to shape the future of the sports car with a full lineup of exquisitely crafted vehicles that blend history, and the values by which Porsche is known the world over, with innovative technologies, including electro-mobility, digitisation, and connectivity.

No Gadgets or Gimmicks

The ultimate aim of the forward-looking strategy is to embrace new technologies without becoming addicted to them. Throughout its history, Porsche has never been about gimmicks and gadgets; the brand has successfully withstood the temptation to deviate from its mission to deliver a superior driving experience – in both built-quality and performance.

A cornerstone of Strategy 2025, the Mission E (rebranded Taycan) now nearing its launch date stands as a testament to that resolve: the upcoming member of Porsche’s fabled product portfolio pays a subtle yet powerful tribute to the company’s original 356, evoking the speedster’s luscious curves and promising to revolutionise the luxury performance car segment just as the first Porsche did.

Cover photo: Not your dad’s Tesla, nor held together by tie-wraps: The Porsche Taycan made by engineers, not marketeers.

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© 2022 Photo by Alexander Migl