Tag Archives: Porsche

News

A Billion-Euro Question: Who Buys Porsche’s Share of Bugatti Rimac?

In the rarified air where nine-figure hypercars meet nine-figure balance sheets, ownership can be just as transient as a Nürburgring lap record. The latest example comes from the Bugatti Rimac joint venture, where Porsche’s sizable stake may soon be looking for a new garage.

According to new reports, a venture capital fund co-founded by a descendant of Egypt’s billionaire Sawiris family is part of a group in talks to acquire Porsche’s share of Bugatti Rimac. If the deal goes through, it would mark yet another chapter in one of the most intricate alliances in modern automotive history.

Bugatti and Rimac officially joined forces in 2021, creating a marriage between a century-old French luxury icon and a Croatian electric-hypercar disruptor. Back then, the ownership chart looked like a particularly messy pit board: Mate Rimac held 37 percent of the Rimac Group, Porsche owned 24 percent, Hyundai controlled 12 percent, and the remaining 27 percent was split among various other investors. Fast-forward to today, and the structure has been simplified—but only slightly. The Rimac Group now owns 55 percent of Bugatti Rimac, while Porsche retains the remaining 45 percent.

That 45 percent is now the prize.

Bloomberg reports that HOF Capital, co-founded by a member of the Sawiris dynasty, along with private equity firm BlueFive Capital, is negotiating to acquire Porsche’s stake. The transaction could value Bugatti Rimac north of €1 billion (about $1.2 billion), and HOF is also said to be considering an additional capital injection into the Rimac Group to fuel future expansion.

None of the parties involved—Porsche, HOF Capital, or BlueFive—have publicly commented on the report. Rimac, however, has acknowledged that discussions with Porsche are ongoing regarding the venture’s future ownership structure, emphasizing that no agreement has yet been reached. It remains unclear whether Mate Rimac himself is directly involved in the current bid, though he has previously expressed interest in partnering with investors to buy Porsche out.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Rimac has been unusually candid about the downsides of complex corporate arrangements. Earlier this year, he openly vented about the difficulty of running a company with too many stakeholders pulling in different directions.

“I just want to be able to make long-term decisions, to make long-term investments, and to do things in a different way, without having to explain to 50 people,” Rimac said. “When you negotiate with a corporation, there are so many factors. It’s families, it’s multiple families. It’s an emotional topic.”

For a company tasked with building multimillion-dollar hybrid hypercars and shaping Bugatti’s post–internal-combustion future, emotional topics may be unavoidable—but simplicity has its appeal. Whether this potential deal delivers that simplicity, or just rearranges the logos on the letterhead, remains to be seen.

One thing is certain: in the hypercar world, the fastest-moving parts aren’t always the cars.

Source: Bloomberg

Tuning

Gunther Werks Gemini Commission: Subtlety, Turned Up to 862 Horsepower

In the restomod world, subtlety is usually the first thing sacrificed on the altar of excess. Widebody kits shout, carbon fiber gleams like a mirror, and horsepower figures are wielded like blunt instruments. Gunther Werks’ latest creation—the Gemini Commission—takes a different approach. It’s proof that an 862-hp Porsche 911 can whisper instead of scream, even while bending the laws of physics in the process.

The Gemini is one of just 75 cars built under Gunther Werks’ Turbo program, which already puts it in rarefied air. But this particular commission pushes exclusivity further, layering bespoke design choices over an already obsessive reengineering of Porsche’s beloved 993-generation 911. Somewhere, a very fortunate owner is about to have the kind of New Year that makes the rest of us question our life choices.

Like every Gunther Werks build, the Gemini starts with the 993 chassis—the last of the air-cooled 911s and, to many purists, the last truly analog one. From there, the Turbo program adds a widened stance and serious aerodynamic upgrades. A vented hood relieves high-pressure air trapped beneath the car to reduce lift, while gills in the front and rear fenders improve cooling and stability. These aren’t styling flourishes; they’re functional necessities when you’re dealing with supercar-level performance wrapped in a ’90s silhouette.

For the Gemini, that aggression is cloaked in restraint. The body is finished in a muted gray selected from four possible hues, and it’s the kind of color that reveals itself slowly, changing character with light and angle. It’s not orange, red, or yellow—and that’s precisely the point. This car doesn’t demand attention; it earns it.

The wheels nod to the original 993 Turbo design but reinterpret it with modern precision and a striking white-gold finish. It’s a bold choice, yet somehow still elegant. Elsewhere, Gunther Werks adds subtle exterior touches, including a stealth-gray wrap on the CNC-machined mirror caps and door handles. The result is a cohesive palette of tones that feels considered rather than conspicuous.

Inside, the Gemini continues its balancing act between craftsmanship and performance. Carbon fiber dominates, as expected, appearing on the upper instrument panel, door panels, center console, and even the racing seat shells. But Gunther Werks knows when to soften the edges. Tangerine orange Italian leather appears in key areas, injecting warmth and contrast without overwhelming the cabin.

This is also the first Gunther Werks build to feature two distinct cockpit motifs. The driver’s seat is trimmed in luxurious Japanese denim with orange stitching and detailing—a material choice that sounds odd until you see how perfectly it works. The passenger seat, meanwhile, is upholstered in fine Italian leather, creating an asymmetry that feels deliberate rather than gimmicky. The center-mounted tachometer, ringed in orange just as Ferdinand Porsche intended, stands out against the other gauges, which wear gray-coated CNC-machined bezels matching the exterior accents.

Lift the rear hatch, and the Gemini stops being subtle altogether—at least mechanically. Nestled beneath is a 4.0-liter flat-six assembled by Rothsport Racing, and it’s mechanical art in the purest sense. Unlike the vertical cooling fan used in standard 911 Turbos, this engine employs a horizontal fan that pushes more air and cools all six cylinders more evenly. It’s a small detail with enormous implications for reliability and performance.

The rest of the engineering reads like a wish list for speed obsessives. Radiators ensure the turbochargers are fed a steady supply of cooled air, while side vents and a ram-air effect at speed sharpen throttle response. Individual throttle bodies on each cylinder add immediacy that modern turbo engines often lack. In normal driving mode, the engine produces a still-absurd 608 horsepower. Switch to Track mode, and that number jumps to 862 hp—enough to make the notion of “restomod” feel hilariously inadequate.

Gunther Werks isn’t revealing the price of the Gemini Commission, citing customer discretion. Fair enough. What we do know is that the Turbo program starts at $850,000, which tells you everything you need to know without saying anything at all.

The Gemini doesn’t exist to shock. It exists to demonstrate restraint at the extreme edge of performance—a rare quality in a world that often confuses loudness with greatness. And that may be its most impressive achievement of all.

Source: Gunther Werks

News

China Doesn’t Need Porsche Anymore

For decades, Porsche’s crest has carried near-mythical weight in China. Stuttgart performance, Nürburgring credibility, and a luxury aura that once felt untouchable helped make China the brand’s single largest market by the mid-2010s. But the ground has shifted—fast—and Porsche is now learning what happens when the hunters become peers.

The latest sign of retreat is subtle but telling: Porsche will begin shutting down its proprietary electric charging network in China starting March 1, 2026. Roughly 200 high-power charging stations will go dark, according to a memo confirmed by Porsche and reported by Chinese outlet Yicai. On paper, the move is framed as “optimization.” In reality, it looks a lot like strategic downsizing in a market that has become unforgiving to legacy Western brands.

China was once the automotive industry’s El Dorado, where European and American manufacturers could sell premium metal at premium margins. That era is over. Domestic automakers have not only caught up—they’ve leapfrogged in areas that matter most to modern buyers: electrification, software, and value. Luxury no longer requires a German passport, and performance no longer needs a European proving ground.

Porsche, like several of its Western peers, appears to have underestimated just how quickly that transition would happen.

Electric Porsches were never volume sellers in China, even as the market sprinted toward EV dominance. The Taycan, while dynamically brilliant, arrived with a price tag and charging expectations that made sense in Europe or North America—but felt out of step in a country where fast, ubiquitous charging and aggressive pricing are table stakes. Chinese brands didn’t just offer alternatives; they offered better-connected, tech-forward cars for significantly less money.

Now, Porsche says it will rely on third-party charging providers rather than operate its own network. Once closed, the brand’s chargers will disappear from the Porsche app’s charging map altogether. That decision follows another recent pullback: Porsche plans to cut its Chinese dealer network nearly in half, shrinking from about 150 outlets to around 80.

These are not the actions of a company doubling down.

It’s a stark contrast to Porsche’s trajectory just a few years ago. The brand entered China in 2001 and steadily climbed the sales charts for two decades. In 2015, China became Porsche’s largest market worldwide. Sales peaked in 2021 at 95,671 vehicles—a figure that once seemed like a new baseline rather than a high-water mark. Since then, the slide has been steep. By 2025, Porsche sales in China are forecast to land around 40,000 units, less than half of their peak.

That decline would have been almost unthinkable not long ago. Porsche’s sports cars—911s, Caymans, and Panameras—have always enjoyed strong brand cachet in China. But cachet only goes so far when competitors are offering luxury cabins, cutting-edge driver assistance, and blistering acceleration at prices that undercut Stuttgart by a wide margin.

Perhaps the most symbolic blow came not on Chinese streets but on Germany’s most sacred strip of asphalt. Brands like BYD and Xiaomi—yes, that Xiaomi—have posted Nürburgring lap times that demand respect. For a company whose identity is deeply tied to motorsport and track performance, watching new Chinese players rewrite the rules on home turf is more than a PR inconvenience—it’s a strategic wake-up call.

Porsche’s official explanation for the charging shutdown emphasizes changing user habits and convenience. That’s fair enough. China’s public charging infrastructure is massive, mature, and often better integrated than anything Porsche could reasonably build on its own. But context matters, and this decision lands alongside shrinking sales, a reduced dealer footprint, and intensifying competition from brands that didn’t exist a decade ago—or existed as budget players with no global ambitions.

The bigger takeaway isn’t just about Porsche. It’s about a global industry recalibration. Western automakers no longer set the pace in China; they’re reacting to it. The market has evolved faster than product cycles, brand strategies, and corporate assumptions could keep up with. And while Porsche isn’t officially exiting China, the signs suggest it’s bracing for a much smaller role.

For a company built on precision, performance, and long-term planning, that’s an uncomfortable position to be in. The crest still means something—but in today’s China, meaning alone isn’t enough.

In the world’s most competitive car market, even icons have to fight to stay relevant. And Porsche, once the benchmark, now finds itself chasing the curve instead of setting it.

Source: Porsche