Porsche declines MINI novelty race

Porsche have declined the invitation to a race from MINI USA President Jim McDowell with a wonderfully succinct reply.

The response took the form of an open letter written by Detlev Von Platen, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. In his letter, available in full below, he states, “Porsche doesn’t race for fame, stunts or publicity. We race to challenge ourselves; we race to push sports car technology; we race to translate every win on the track to our cars on the road.”

Von Platen didn’t miss a second opportunity to remind McDowell that Porsche’s racing history is proud and grows with many major events each year, “While your challenge seems like a fun and lighthearted campaign, we’ll stick to racing the way we have over the decades. We welcome you at Sebring, Le Mans, Daytona or any other sanctioned race where there is more at stake than T-shirts and valet parking spaces.”

An invitation of his own was issued by Von Platen when he included a link to a Porsche advertisement that highlights its racing pedigree. The ad has been featured on AUSmotive before and can be seen again after the jump.

So, for now, at least, the MINI v Porsche party is over. Although, given MINI’s cheeky marketing prowess they’ll likely have a new tack ready to tack in this battle of wits which aims, if nothing else, to put the MINI name alongside Porsche in a new way to create brand association.

[Source: Autoblog]

UPDATE: MotoringFile brings us news that MINI USA are getting ready to flog a dead horse.

Dear Jim,

Imagine our surprise to discover our former employee, now the head of Mini, has challenged us to a head-to-head race. As you surely know, Porsche has a long history of racing success, with more than 28,000 wins over the last 60 years. In our early days, we pitted ourselves against the giants, so we’ve been in your shoes.

But as you also know, Porsche doesn’t race for fame, stunts or publicity. We race to challenge ourselves; we race to push sports car technology; we race to translate every win on the track to our cars on the road. If you need a reminder of our intent, please take a look at this short video: http://tinyurl.com/37xdjqx

While your challenge seems like a fun and lighthearted campaign, we’ll stick to racing the way we have over the decades. We welcome you at Sebring, Le Mans, Daytona or any other sanctioned race where there is more at stake than T-shirts and valet parking spaces. We also invite you to any of the thousands of tracks around the world where Porsche owners compete each weekend.

Good luck with your race at Road Atlanta on June 21; we hope you enjoy the day.

Sincerely,

Detlev Von Platen President and CEO, Porsche Cars North America