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2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo: First look
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Panamera Turbo - equiped with PDK transmission
The Panamera made it’s official dealership debut on Friday, October 16th. Over 300 people had RSVP’d to the event, held at Porsche North Scottsdale. Final attendance, of those that signed the guest book was well over 1,000, according to salesman Stephen Schwartz.
When the rumors that Porsche was entering the sedan market many people, including myself, were extremely skeptical. There was a fear that Porsche was diluting their brand by trying out a new venture. Of course, people thought the same thing when Porsche entered the SUV market with the Cayenne. The same can be said about the Boxster when it first arrived on the market. Sales numbers of the Cayenne Boxster have been strong and have proven that Porsche was not just testing the waters when introducing new vehicles.
First spy pictures of the actual car were not flattering, to say the least. In fact, many people considered the car to be downright ugly. I had a chance to get a private viewing of the Panamera Turbo this past Tuesday and can honestly say that the early photos did not serve any justice to this car. The front end of the car is reminiscent of the Carrera GT and the rear end looks like a 911, with a slightly different grade to the slope.
Enough trunk room for two sets of golf clubs.
The Panamera is a true four seater sedan, so, if you are a family of five this probably isn’t the car for you. The rear seats are offset to the center of the car so that the passengers have a better view of the road. From the exterior of the car the rear headroom does not look like it would be very spacious. In fact, the back of the car almost looks like it shares the same lines with the Mercedes CLS. Once inside the back seat it is astonishing to see how much headroom and legroom there actually is available.
From the driver seat there are buttons galore. Porsche, to separate themselves from the competition, decided not to go with a central control knob, like the i-Drive system of the BMW. Instead, there are buttons that control all of the functions. Once acclimated to the car the driver will be able to utilize all of the features without taking their eyes off of the road ahead of them.
There are three versions of the Panamera available. First, there is the Panamera S, with a 400 horsepower V-8. Following that is the Panamera 4S, which shares the same 400 horsepower engine but adds an all wheel drive drivetrain. Finally, there is the Panamera Turbo which boasts a 500 horsepower, twin turbocharged V-8. The Panamera will rocket you from 0-60 in 5.2 seconds all the way down to 3.8 seconds, depending on which model you purchase. Additionally, the Panamera is only available with the PDK transmission. As for pricing, the Panamera S starts at $89,800; Panamera 4S starts at $93,800; and the Panamera Turbo starts at $132,600. Keep in mind that Porsche options are a la carte, so be prepared to spend quite a bit to get a car customized to your liking. A well appointed Panamera Turbo will probably has a MSRP of around $150,000.
Panamera Turbo, with the spoiler deployed.
The Porsche Panamera is targeting customers that would be purchasing a Mercedes S class or BMW 7 series. Customers who are looking for more performance, while still offering all of the luxury, should seriously consider the Panamera.
Will Porsche eventually build a two door version of the Panamera? That question remains to be answered, however, it would be reminiscent of the iconic Porsche 928 and, in my opinion, would sell very well.
At the time of publishing a test drive was not available. However, feedback from Stephen Schwartz, who attended a two day sales training course with this new car, says that the performance is simply amazing and he was surprised about how easily this car handled around Firebird Raceway . I hope to have a test drive report published soon.
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