Porsche Secrets From the Man Who Designed the 981, Carrera GT & Cayenne

Most Porsche owners know the cars. Very few ever get to hear how the decisions behind them were actually made.

My guest this week is Hugh Robinson, the former Porsche designer who spent 15 years inside Porsche during one of the most important periods in the company's modern history.

Hugh helped bring the original Cayenne interior to production, worked on the production interior of the Carrera GT, and created the design that became the 981 Boxster and Cayman.

And he has some stories.

We get into the internal decisions, arguments, compromises and engineering problems that shaped cars many of us now have sitting in our garages.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why Porsche believed in the Cayenne when many enthusiasts thought it would destroy the company

• How the Cayenne helped give Porsche the money and confidence to build cars like the GT3 and GT4

• Why Hugh thought Porsche should take the Cayenne racing at Dakar

• The real reason the Carrera GT was created alongside the Cayenne

• How the Carrera GT's famous high-mounted wooden shifter almost disappeared from the production car

• The engineering work required to save that shifter