Berlin  - The board of German carmaker Porsche failed to reach a deal to save the iconic sports car maker after a several-hour closed-door meeting late Wednesday.

Company sources have not ruled out that 56-year-old chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking could step down before Porsche and Volkswagen boards meet separately on Thursday to discuss the future of the two carmakers.

But a Porsche spokesman once again earlier Wednesday rejected any suggestion that Wiedeking would step down ahead of the board meeting, which comes the wake of moves by VW to launch a complete takeover of luxury sports car group.

In planning to take over Porsche in two steps, Volkswagen turns the tables on Porsche, which has been forced to abandon a push to acquire VW.

This came after Porsche wracked up debt of about 10 billion euros (14.2 billion dollars) in gaining a majority stake in VW, Europe's biggest carmaker.

Moreover, the Porsche spokesman said that Wiedeking would present to Thursday's board meeting his plans for cutting the debt levels.

This includes securing a deal worth up to 5 billion euros with the Gulf state of Qatar to buy a between 10 and 25 per-per-cent stake in Porsche.

At the same time, the Porsche chief has turned to the carmaker's family owners for help in refinancing the debt through a capital injection of up to 5 billion euros. (dpa)