Porsche wants to bring its ownership experience to as many drivers as possible, even if that means ownership only lasts a few hours. On Wednesday, the brand announced two new short-term loan programs that will launch as pilot programs in the United States: Porsche Drive and Porsche Host.
Both follow Porsche's car-subscription service, Porsche Passport, which launched in October 2017. The first program, Porsche Drive, could be considered "Porsche Passport Lite." The program will allow users to reserve a Porsche model from four hours, to a few days, to a week, should they desire. After reserving the desired vehicle, white-glove delivery service drops the car off at a specified location within two hours outside of metro Atlanta, where the pilot will begin.
Every Porsche model from all six lineups will be part of Porsche Drive, including the 911 sports car. Specific model variants are also included, but availability will dictate access to them. Detailed pricing wasn't included in the announcement, but the company said pricing will start at $269 (plus taxes and fees) for four hours in a Macan, 718 Cayman, or 718 Boxster. Costs climb to as much as $2,909 (again, plus taxes and fees) for one week with a 911.
Clutch Technologies will manage the program and interested parties in the Atlanta area can begin reserving cars via Porsche chat on its website, by phone, or email.
The second program, Porsche Host, is a partnership between the company and Turo. Turo is one of the leading peer-to-peer car rental services. It allows drivers to rent out their cars when they're not being driven. Porsche Host will be directly included in the Turo marketplace and offer a group of "hosts" specifically groomed to give users a "five-star Porsche experience," the brand said. The program will be available via the Turo smartphone app or website and rolls out in San Francisco and Los Angeles on October 8. Time periods for rentals range from one day to a month or longer.
Porsche didn't say whether success would lead to new markets for either program, but that's usually the purpose of pilot programs. For now, though, interested parties in Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles can at least pretend to be king or queen for a day or more.