Will Porsche Speak Chinese or Russian?

The genie is out of the bottle with Porsche and countries that want to invest in the embattled carmaker. In what the New York Times’ DealBook is now calling a “botched” attempt to take over Volkswagen, Porsche racked up massive debt and now needs a sovereign-wealth-fund bailout—as opposed to a good, old-fashioned national treasury-funded bailout (see: Chrysler, General Motors).

The Chinese and the Russians have reportedly joined Qatar in angling for a stake in Porsche. In any case, one can see why Porsche looks attractive, even if it’s billions in the red: The debt was amassed in an effort to gain a controlling interest in VW, but it hasn’t really affected Porsche’s highly desirable vehicle lineup, which is beloved by luxury consumers. Porsche in fact chose the Shanghai Motor Show earlier this year to debut its first-ever sedan, the Panamera.

What’s also interesting here is the degree to which China is becoming active not just in modernizing its international manufacturing base and moving toward higher-level consumer products (which presumably its own growing middle class will buy) but also in financial forays. The global financial crisis has been something of a glorious adventure for China. On the auto front, it just gets more and more lively.