Driven: 2010 Porsche Panamera
Not as controversial as the Cayenne was in 2003, the Porsche Panamera four-door sports car makes sense no matter what you are, we say. We’re hot from the driver’s seat and we like.
—Elmau, Germany
We’ve personally been present at all of the Panamera events leading up to today’s long awaited drive and we can say honestly that the Porsche luxury liner has looked better and better to us with each walk-around. Whether witnessing in the clouds above Shanghai, in the passenger seat at the company’s Weissach tech center, or driving it here in the Bavarian Alps, we are now certain that the Panamera is at the very least a trueblood modern day Porsche.
Whether one likes the packaging of the car is up to the individual but Porsche board members present at this event assure us that there are more than enough individuals out there worldwide who are putting in advance orders for the Panamera. The objective yearly for the big-hatch sedan is 20,000-plus deliveries to customers, upwards of 80 percent of these buyers being new to the brand. Basically, spot-on with the original sales goals of the Cayenne (which sold more like 40,000 units annually in the first couple of years).
These two days we’ve driven the bidgeezers out of a Panamera Turbo and a Panamera 4S, both with the “optional” seven-speed PDK automated manual dual-clutch gearbox. (Optional in quotes because every single Panamera shipping to North America comes thus equipped.) We also drove the base Panamera S with the Euro-only six-speed manual just as a curve ball exercise.
Factual stuff to know besides the volume goals for the grand tourer – one third of that 20,000-plus is still intended for North America – are prices. The Panamera S starts at $89,800, the 4S at $93,800 and the Turbo at a walloping $132,600 once U.S. deliveries begin in October. When we mentioned that those prices are all over 30 percent above what gets asked for the equivalent Cayenne using the exact same drive- and powertrains, one board member reminded us that Mercedes uses the same essential price difference between the ML63 and S63 AMG models. (He then also jokingly said that if we go by sheer cost per pound that the Panamera is actually over 50 percent more costly than the Cayenne.)
Once opening the driver’s door, sitting in the cockpit, touching everything, and driving over all kinds of road surfaces at all speeds, we cannot lament the substance of the Panamera nor the incredible build quality. These reactions certainly are not surprising and these aspects are exactly why Porsches of almost any sort will always find enough buyers. We anticipate an awful lot of fence-sitters warming up to the Panamera in the first couple of years.
This heavily adapted chassis-body from the Cayenne gets assembled at the same factory in Leipzig, Germany. The Panamera dimensions read 195.7 inches long, 76 inches wide, 55.8 inches high, and a wheelbase of 115 inches. That makes it 7 inches longer and 11 inches lower than Cayenne. Width is the same between the two and the Panamera wheelbase 2.5 inches longer. Quoting specs from the respective Turbo models, curb weight for the Panamera Turbo at 4,344 pounds is some 848 pounds less than its Cayenne counterpart.
Whether speaking of the naturally aspirated or biturbo version of the M48 4.8-liter V-8 engine, the much lighter and low Panamera drives every bit like a big four-door sports car should, eventually leaving way behind in the curves even the S 63 or CLS 63 AMG, but more obviously so when speaking of the 494-horsepower Panamera Turbo benefiting also from the 516 pound-feet of torque between 2250 and 4500 revs. And make that 567 lb-ft in Overeboost when you have the Sport Chrono Package and the suspension, transmission and throttle in Sport Plus mode. In the Turbo with this trim, it will take just 4.0 seconds to get to 60 mph from a stop, 4.2 seconds if you are without Sport Chrono.
We dug bigtime our Panamera S with six-speed manual as this really is a sports car with a little heft and four doors. Even with its 394 horses and 369 lb-ft of torque having to haul this biggie around, the manual action is that Porsche manual linkage that we always enjoy while hammering through curves and gears. Oh well, we no gettie, but the next best alternative is the full-optional Turbo with the PDK. Still not in love with the steering wheel toggle switches for the interface, but the Sport and Sport Plus modes make it supportable. With Porsche Active Suspension Management and Porsche Stability Management, too, there are several distinctly different good driving experiences in this one car.
One gotta-get item is the optional sport exhaust that also gets its own console button. This is essentially a Loud button as on most Aston Martins. People outside the car assure us we were loud when at full throttle, because the interior is so well insulated that we heard little of the sonic storm.
Our highest speed reached was just over 180 mph for a long stretch of no-limit autobahn and the stability was pretty terrific. Watching the variable-angle 2D+ rear wing of the Turbo trim deploy itself as we streaked past 56 mph and then 128 mph was a fun spectacle and the bigger wing do help matters.
But enough for now. There’s a bigger feature on this drive coming in the next issue of Winding Road, so stay tuned for more details and sensations.
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Comments
Mena
Ugly.
Tut
What? It's one of the best looking sedans around. Not a trace of ugly. It's a very desirable car, performance-wise and design-wise.
The Stig
Man, the interior is the biggest cluster f I've ever seen. I didn't think it could look worse on the inside than it does on the outside.
terrymetcalfe
crash courses
I have loved the porsche since being little!
But the problem now facing the porsche is that all the cars are now looking the same with the performance being very little from each model.
CriticalMass
Ugly.
"A day without a hundred miles per hour is a bad day"
2007Porsche
Absolutely gorgeous!! Outside and in, this vehicle far exceeded my expectations. And if the performance and build quality are anywhere near that of my 2007, it should be a big hit for Porsche. Although, as mentioned in you article, it will take time for this model to "grow" on people just as the Cayenne did, high performance sedans will be in big demand once we are done with current "Obamanization" of the auto industry.
CriticalMass
I have no doubt it will be successful as was the Cayenne. Nameplate blindness is not an exclusively BMW malady (5 Series Gran Tourismo anyone? Hey waiter, where's my flame surface!). They may be successful and have many fine qualities but they are still, unfortunately and emphatically, ugly.
"A day without a hundred miles per hour is a bad day"
satow
Shape and style is reminiscent of the old Datsun 280zx 2+2, but the Panamera is much more polished and refined. I had hoped that it would look more like the 928 series but in 4 door, but I wouldn't mind owning one of these puppies!
AstnMrtn007
I gotta say, I'm not very impressed with Porsche's latest creation(s). The rather bland exterior styling of their newest models has reached a new low with the Panamera. The front end has basically the same, unimaginative styling that we've seen from Porsche for the past 30 years. Some people like it, some people would like some changes. But the back-end of this stinkbug just seems unquestionably UGLY. I have to completely disagree with the author's statement that it "got better every time we walked around it." I've seen this car in person, and that backside doesn't look any better in person, regardless of how many times I walked around it! The interior is pretty sharp, but it'd better be at that price range. Porsche performance seems to be pulsing through it, but I can't see how people can justify spending around 100k on a vehicle that just isn't particularly attractive overall, and downright nasty looking from behind. I'd personally save my money and see what the new Jaguar XJ looks like.
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I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think Porsche should go find Chris Bangle now that he's on the market. In this case, his design ideas would actually be an improvement.
I'm trying to keep an open mind until see this in the flesh. I'm also trying to keep the thoughts about "real Porsches" from clouding my judgement... but... it's... so... difficult.
I am sure that the Cayenne drives wonderfully but I just find the whole idea of an overpriced garish SUV so abhorant. I think the idea of a performance sedan is a more logical fit with what the Porsche brand stands for (or stood for) to me over the years. When I think Porsche I think of sophisticated cars with world-class engineering, high quality, and the performance of an exotic but with every-day reliability and usability. This doesn't have to preclude room for one's family or guests but the tall stance and questionable extra utility of the SUV somehow conflicted with the idea of ultimate engineering in my mind. A sports sedan makes more sense somehow despite the fact that fuel-economy and performance isn't necessarily any better, it just seems less of a knee-jerk reaction to a short-lived fad.
Styling aside, I wonder whether my reaction to the Panamera would be different if it came before the Cayenne?
rearl@watsonearl.com
Uber-ugly. Inside and out. And what the hell is that airline map doing in the instrument pod? Or is this the Pan American model?
They'll probably sell their quota only because it is a Porsche. But the styling puts it miles behind the competition.
Herr Dr. Porsche must be turning over in his grave at the lack of styling creativity in this outfit.
AutoCritical
Perhaps there will be many promotional shots, mostly taken from the front perspective to minimise the goofy length of the vehicle.
rearl@watsonearl.com
And dig that shifter. It's positioned just about where you'd find it in a minivan. They musta been on drugs.
econfer@eriez.com
It's a travisty! Sure Porsches have maintained a certain look for decade now, but that's wht we love about them. I understand the brand needs to grab another market, but this was the wrong way to do it. The Cayenne had flavor and principal, but this is just plain sad.
If Porsche was really trying to reinvent their wheel(s), then they should consider being one of the first major manufacturers to build an electric performance vehicle based around Porsche racing philosophy, something that doesn't necessarily get 100 mpg but something that handles the twisties very well, can do a fierce burn our, has the motors in the rear, and is built around the quality standards that existing practices call for.
The Panamera is a big time 'boner kill' and I can't think that the sex appeal that other Porsches offer will carry over to this vehicle. Could you see a 10+ blonde dying to get a ride in this? Nope, she left with the guy with the Ferrari or GT2/3. It screams rounded Chevy Malibu Max or BMW 5 GT (another loser only selling to the BMW owners that want different).
Sad day in my book.
edju@alum.mit.edu
Panamera is ugly in these photos, especially the profile. By trying to stretch the 911 design themes, you are left w/ a hackjob of a stretched 911, limo style. I'll need to see it in person for a final judgment, and I have a feeling these will sit at the dealer parking lot collecting dust.
One comment about the interior styling, especially the center stack and the buttons - the designers seemed to have gotten their inspiration from the VERTU Signature phone...
And what's up with the huge blindspots created by the giant fixed headrests in the rear? I hope this beast comes equipped with permanent rear view camera. And I thought the X6 was executed poorly. What happened to safety and usability?
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Hahn
This is an extremely clumsy design. The front is typical Porsche - so something we are used to at least (but getting tired of) , however everything rearward of that is a disaster. The roofline is particulary bad, but it doesn't stop there.
This bears out my theory that Porsche designers can only design one car well - the one they have been designing since the early 60's.
The reason I am sure of this is that they continue to make the same design mistakes year after year. They have quit trying, and are lazy, which is the kiss of death for design.
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