Australian distributors of luxury and sports cars believe the worst of the financial crisis is behind us -- with one brand even questioning whether Australia was ever in a recession in the first place.

Porsche released the fastest car it has ever built this week -- a new 911 Turbo that can sprint to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds -- but the supercar is sold out for six months despite the fact that it costs in excess of $400,000 by the time it's on the road.

The first 30 cars are already sold and another 20 orders are waiting to be filled -- and aren't expected to be filled until mid year or beyond.

The new Turbo arrives just as Porsche reported a boom sales month in January and February sales are expected to show a marked increase on the same month last year.

"It's dangerous to define trends based on one month of results, but we had a phenomenal January and February is looking strong as well," the managing director of Porsche Cars Australia, Michael Winkler, told the Carsales Network.

"The early signs are good. I think in the luxury end of the market, there has definitely been some positive impulses.

"As unemployment remains low, businesses start re-hiring and they start feeling good about their own businesses, then they will feel okay about [rewarding] themselves with a car for the effort."

Porsche says many of its customers haven't gone away, they merely delayed their purchase of a new car.

"For us a typical turnover rate [for a 911 customer] is 33 months, but at 33 months it's easy to postpone your purchase. The car isn't very old, it hasn't got high kilometres, it's easy to hold to it for another six or nine months. And that's what a lot of customers have done."

Porsche expects to see a dip in sales in the lead up to the middle of the year as it clears stock of the soon-to-be replaced Cayenne four-wheel-drive, which accounts for up to half the maker's sales locally and globally, depending on where it is in the model cycle.

The new, second generation Cayenne is due to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show next month and in Australian showrooms by August with V6, hybrid and V8 Turbo power.

"We will have a dip mid year but then a spike at the end of the year. Overall we expect to be up," says Winkler.

Although luxury car sales were down in 2009, what the raw numbers don't show is that there was still a strong mix of high-profit, range-topping cars.

"What makes Australia so unique is that we tend to be very much a high end market. So GT3s and Turbos tend to represent a higher proportion of the 911 mix."

Fellow German luxury maker Mercedes-Benz also has a rich mix of new-car sales locally. Australia is the most popular market in the world -- on a per capita basis -- for its top-end AMG luxury performance cars. So why are high end luxury cars so popular given the strict speed enforcement in Australia?

"It's a sign of prosperity," says Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy. "Australia has been tracking well compared to the rest of the world and people want to reward themselves. Admittedly some people wanted to keep a low profile last year but the tide is turning.

"Our figures show that Australians not only buy more of the top end cars [per capita] than they do in other markets, they also drive their cars further. They use them every day. They're not just locked away for use on weekends."

The average annual distance travelled in a Porsche sports car is 10,000km, while the average for Cayenne 4WDs is 20,000km. Winkler says that despite some of the strongest traffic enforcement in the world Australia is an enthusiast market.

"You don't have to go flat out to use these cars. Plus there is a strong swing to drive days. Our drive days are sold out months and months in advance. It's getting to the point we can't provide enough days."

At the Porsche Centre at Queensland's Mount Cotton facility, Porsche runs 55 driver training days a year, plus another 40 to 50 at other venues around the country.

"People really crave for the opportunity to do that," says Winkler.

BMW also hosts almost 100 drive days for its high performance M cars, which also account for a higher than average mix of BMW sales locally. Indeed, the high performance twin turbo 135i Coupe is the biggest selling model in the 1 Series coupe/convertible range -- despite being one of the most expensive.

Meanwhile, fellow German maker, Audi recorded a massive 20 per cent growth last year -- after three successive years of double-digit growth.

As for the recession, Mercedes agrees the worst is over.

"I don't know that we were ever in a downturn," says McCarthy.

"People exercised more caution last year but they didn't stop buying luxury cars. They were more discerning when it came to value and were attracted to the stable brands with strong reputations."

He said as long as economic conditions remained good, the luxury car market would remain buoyant.

"Interest rates are still low, unemployment is low, investment is climbing, there's a lot of confidence out there in the business world.

"I question whether Australia really was ever in a recession."

Mercedes-Benz expects to eclipse the 20,000 mark this year.

"We have firm order banks, our order rate is strong, and we expect steady growth," he said. "There will be a slight dip in the first quarter because we had a lot of pull forward in December and January because of the Federal Government's tax incentive, but it will pick up again by the middle of the year.
 "Would I say the recession is over? I don't think it ever started."

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