Test Drive a Porsche Cell Phone

Porsche adds a mobile phone to its luxury line of watches, ties, and, um, cars. It may be the preferred accessory for those who can't afford its wheels

by Olga Kharif

Since 1948, the Porsche brand has been synonymous with sleek and fast. Cars, that is. Yet in 1972, the German automaker began designing luxury accessories, a lineup that now includes luggage, eyewear, watches, and ties. Now comes Porsche's boldest foray outside its comfort zone: On June 12, Porsche Design Group unveiled its first mobile phone, in France of course. And there are plans for more Porsche phones.

Designed by Porsche, but engineered and manufactured by France-based Sagem, the $1,600 handset will debut in Britain, Dubai, and other overseas markets later this year. The phone is expected to reach the U.S. in early 2008, possibly through Porsche auto dealerships and the five U.S. Porsche Design stores.

This is not the first time a cell phone maker has partnered with a world-renowned automotive brand. In 2003, Motorola (MOT) unveiled two Harley-Davidson (HOG) versions of its V60i phones for the U.S. market. Detailed with leather or chrome to achieve a tough Harley look, the gadgets were engraved with the motorcycle maker's 100th anniversary logo. Similarly, Sharp teamed with Ferrari in 2005 on a red GX25 Ferrari phone that was sold by wireless service provider Vodafone (VOD) in Britain. Earlier this year, Vodafone also launched the McLaren Mercedes GX29, a square, metallic phone for fans of the Formula One racing team co-sponsored by Mercedes-Benz.

But Porsche's phone, the P'9521, may be the first such handset not intended as a one-off, limited-edition wonder. Just as the company's Porsche Design subsidiary keeps putting out new patterns of silk ties, it plans to expand the cell phone line. Porsche's deal with Sagem, the world's No. 6 cell phone maker and a subsidiary of Safran (SAGM), runs for three years.

Porsche and Sagem already plan to introduce a second, slider-design phone in the first quarter of 2008, says Stéphane Bret, a vice-president at Sagem. A third model is due in mid-2008. Each handset is to debut in Europe, and Sagem expects to make from 100,000 to 150,000 combined per year. The first Porsche phone will retail for 1,200€, or $1,600, but dealers might also give them to their best clients, Bret says. "We see a lot of demand," he says.

High-End Phones that Unlock the Car

The notion of automaker-turned-phonemaker may grow more common if, as many experts expect, mobile handsets become more integrated with cars themselves. Future handsets may be able to locate a car in the parking lot, lock and unlock doors, or remind the driver it's time for an oil change, says Richard Doherty, director of the consultancy Envisioneering Group. As a result, Mercedes-Benz, BMW (BMW), and Volkswagen (VOWG)—all longtime dabblers with in-car accessories for phones—are believed to be developing handsets to sell with their cars or separately, he says. These carmakers could introduce their own branded phones as early as 2008, Doherty believes.