It’s been an odd year in international sports car racing, because for the first time in many years, there is no corporate presence from Porsche. Some of its competition-oriented dealers, such as Brumos, have beefed up trackside support of privateer teams running 911s and 993s in the GT classes, but factory teams are missing from both the GT and prototype ranks, and the sport is poorer for it.

There is a reason, of course — the millions the company is spending for development of its first SUV, the Cayenne. As a small-volume manufacturer, an all-new model line leaves Porsche without the considerable number of discretionary Deutschmarks needed to go racing.

These developments leave most enthusiasts agog. Porsche gives up racing to build… a truck? Worse yet, a truck that is sharing a platform with parent company Volkswagen?

Pride seems to have gone out the window in favor of this notion that the Cayenne, when it goes on sale in 2002, will boost Porsche unit sales 50 percent. The good news is that current development costs for the Cayenne have not affected profits, partly due to its being a shared platform, and partly due to Porsche’s existing expertise in four-wheel-drive technology.

So if there is any bad news for Porsche, it falls outside the realm of short-term business tangibles. But I just have a bad feeling about this in the long run, no matter how wonderful the Cayenne turns out to be.

It is one thing for BMW to play in the SUV sandbox. The company’s central image is that of a sedan maker — granted, BMW makes some of the best-performing, most desirable sedans imaginable — so it is not that much of a stretch seeing it produce some outrageous, road-oriented SUVs.

Porsche, on the other hand, has never been anything other than a pure sports car manufacturer. That knowledge, for many, is a substantial component of the ownership experience. Knowing that Porsche is becoming a me-too player in an SUV market that has peaked will leave owners of 911s, 993s and Boxsters feeling a tad washed out, believing the company has lost some of its soul.

You buy a Porsche sports car because it is a Porsche. As of 2002, it will be less so.