Porsche is practically synonymous with two-door coupes. Not to say that the brand never explores the market outside that niche, but it’s a bit like Subaru building a two-wheel drive vehicle. It’s simply not where the automaker specializes. But, believe it or not, the Cayenne SUV was not the first four-door Porsche by a long shot. Not only does there exist a four-door 911 S with rear-hinged second-row doors, but it was built in America.
Porsche Has Been Experimenting With Four-Door Models Since The 1950s
Studebaker Z-87 / Porsche 542Wheelsage.org
Porsche’s history in the four-door segment shows the automaker creating prototype after prototype without any production models to show for it until the introduction of the Cayenne. The earliest example we can find is the 1953 Porsche 542, also known as the Studebaker Z-87.
1953 Porsche 542 Specs
Engine
3.0-Liter 6-Cylinder
Power
106 hp
The idea behind the 542 was to pitch the prototype to Studebaker. The Studebaker brand was in the process of merging with Packard around this time, following years of business difficulties. Studebaker’s facilities were out of date by the mid-1950s, and the brand was facing increased competition from the Big Three. By the time Studebaker was ready to survey the prototype in 1956, it just didn’t have the means to put the car into production.
Porsche didn’t give up on the four-door segment completely, but it would be another 34 years before the brand made another attempt.
Porsche Turned A 928 Into A Shooting Brake In 1984
Porsche 942 conceptAlexandre Prevot / Wikimedia Commons
In the mid 1980s, Porsche hoped to create a more spacious version of the 928 with a shooting brake profile, christened the Porsche 942. The backseat of the 928 was notoriously cramped, and a wagon vibe would have fixed that. The 1984 Porsche 942 was presented to Ferdinand Porsche as a 75th-birthday present. But, this first version of a wagon-styled 928 was still a two-door.
Porsche took another shot at a shooting brake 928 in 1987 with the Studie H50, a four-door intended to revitalize the aging 928, then about a decade old.
1987 Porsche Studie H50 Specs
Engine
5.0-Liter 8-Cylinder
Power
330 hp
The Studie H50 wasn’t intended to be a one-off experiment. Porsche truly hoped to push this car through to production, putting 5,000 development miles on the powertrain and concluding that the long body simply didn’t meet rigidity standards. Granted, a Porsche shouldn’t feel wobbly on the road, but the loss of the Studie H50 meant that we wouldn’t get a production four-door from the brand for another 18 years, with the debut of the 2002 Cayenne. Some would argue that the honor actually goes to the 2009 Porsche Panamera, since the Cayenne is an SUV.
The First Four-Door Porsche 911 Was Built In Texas
1967 Porsche 911 S Four DoorJalopy Jeff via YouTube
Porsche has been building one-offs and prototypes with four doors since the 1950s, but the first version of the concept in America was commissioned in the late 1960s by William Dick. Dick was a Texas-based car dealer who specialized in Volkswagens and Porsches, and he had a vision for a sports car that would fit the whole family.
1967 Porsche 911 S Four-Door Specs
Engine
2.0-Liter 6-Cylinder
Power
160 hp
In pursuit of this one-off dream car, Dick went to US coachbuilders Troutman and Barnes, after finding nobody in Europe who was able, or willing, to chop a Porsche 911 up into a family car. The team stretched the wheelbase to 108 inches, nearly a foot longer than a modern 911, and added a pair of Lincoln Continental-inspired rear-hinged doors.
The exterior was painted green, and the car was fitted with a Sportomatic transmission. The cabin was decked out in rich brown leather and walnut inlays, the cargo floor was finished in wood, and it even had power windows, a rarity in the late 1960s.
William Dick Wanted To Light A Fire Under Porsche’s Butt
1967 Porsche 911 S Four DoorJalopy Jeff via YouTube
The conversion itself is estimated to have cost $20,000, or nearly $204,000 when adjusted for inflation. The project took eight months, with the finished product being ready around Christmas 1967 as a gift for Dick’s wife, Hester. Or at least, that’s what William Dick claimed, but the situation calls to mind the Simpsons episode where Homer picks out a bowling ball for Marge. What Dick really wanted was to prove to Porsche that a four-door 911 could work.
You Can’t Buy Any Of Those Cars At The Porsche Dealer, But…
2017 Porsche CayennePorsche
Once upon a time, if you wanted a four-door Porsche, you had to go out and build it yourself. Over 70 years since Porsche first took a shot at the concept, you’ve got a few options to pick from, and some of them are surprisingly affordable.
According to our price-tracking tool, you can get a 2016 Porsche Cayenne for around $16,000, from an initial MSRP of $58,300. That means you’re saving 72.6% on the sticker price, or around $42,300. Here are some used models that are currently available:
- A 64,995-mile 2019 Cayenne is selling for $38,000 in California.
- A 148,143-mile 2014 Cayenne is selling for $14,914 in Florida.
- A 61,295-mile 2019 Cayenne is selling for $28,590 in Illinois.
- A 117,314-mile 2015 Cayenne S is selling for $16,999 in California.
- A 79,871-mile 2014 Cayenne is selling for $17,990 in Arizona.
Note that these listings are provided just to give you an idea of what’s out there. There’s no telling what will be available in your area, and in your price range, when you’re ready to buy. All the same, these numbers illustrate that it’s not hard to find some very affordable Cayennes with under 100,000 miles on the odometer.
The 2017 Porsche Cayenne is one of the more reliable model years, with zero reports on file with CarComplaints. Reliable or not, the Cayenne requires specialty parts and premium servicing, so you should expect to pay around $1,231 a year in routine upkeep, according to RepairPal.
The 2016 Panamera Is Trending At A Third Of Its Sticker Price
2016 Porsche Panamera 4S Diesel Driving Finished In BluePorsche
If the Panamera is closer to your ideal of what a Porsche should be, the 2016 model is currently trending at $23,709 from an MSRP of $78,100. That represents a savings of $54,391 for an entry-level model, or around 69.6% off the sticker price. Here are some used models we turned up.
- A 90,000-mile 2014 Panamera is selling for $25,000 in California.
- A 31,000-mile 2015 Panamera GTS is selling for $51,788 in Oregon.
- A 78,344-mile 2016 Panamera is selling for $25,990 in Ohio.
- A 73,367-mile 2016 Panamera is selling for $26,590 in Arizona.
- A 32,805-mile 2019 Panamera is selling for $56,590 in Ohio.
Just like the Cayenne, it’s not hard to find a fairly priced Panamera with under 100,000 miles on the odometer. CarComplaints sees zero reports for the 2017 Panamera, and for every model year after, while RepairPal puts annual maintenance at $1,252.
Coachbuilds Can Be Incredibly Expensive
Spanish coach-building company Hurtan’s beautifully bespoke Grand Albaycin is actually a Mazda Miata in disguise.Hurtan
If none of these four-doors fit your idea of what a roomy Porsche should look like, you could always commission a coachbuild of your own. Of course, that’s likely to be more expensive than going directly to Porsche HQ and asking if that shooting brake is for sale.
Rolls-Royce once considered the idea of coach-building custom one-offs, but found that the project was not only incredibly costly, even for the brand’s high-tax-bracket customer base, but also unfeasible. Even if the brand was charging $13 million a car, the project just wasn’t worth the resources.
William Dick scoured all of Europe before returning home to work with Troutman and Barnes. That was a man who had all the industry contacts you could hope to have, and the project still cost him the equivalent of $204,000.
Sources: Porsche, CarComplaints, RepairPal.
