February 14, 2009 The Porsche Panamera is quite unlike any sports car that has been before it in that it was conceived to offer equal comfort and luxury for four occupants. Porsche has previously released external images of the Panamera, due for showrooms in September/October this year, and the image gallery contains the first images of the gran turismo’s knockout interior. With a continuous center console that extends from the dashboard to the rear seats, the Panamera offers a new spatial experience for the driver and passengers featuring optimal ergonomic seating with an individual cockpit-like environment for all.
The low seating position and the sporting, low-slung steering wheel ensure that direct feeling for the road so typical of a Porsche. As well as providing an optimum seating position for the driver, the Panamera provides a generous, roomy interior with exceptional head and legroom for all occupants; unique qualities in a sporting car yet essential for grand touring.
The Panamera will offer customers countless opportunities for individual interior personalization, with numerous options and possibilities to customize the car to his or her choice. Smooth and natural leathers are available in a total of 13 colour and material combinations, including four two-tone options that can be combined wherever required with seven optional interior trim finishes including exclusive materials such as carbon fiber and Natural Olive wood.
The Panamera offers comprehensive levels of safety courtesy of driver and front passenger airbags, curtain airbags as well as – on the front seats – side and knee airbags, all ensuring maximum protection as standard features in the event of an accident. Side airbags are available for the rear seats as an optional feature.
The comfort seats featured as standard in the Panamera S and 4S are of a sporting style, and can be adjusted electrically in eight different directions for optimum comfort. In the rear, two individual seats - with a folding centre armrest - provide generous legroom and headroom, particularly for tall passengers. The Panamera Turbo combines electric seat adjustment with a Comfort Memory Package not only for the seat functions but also the electrically adjustable steering column. Further alternatives such as adaptive sports seats or rear comfort seats with powered adjustment to a wide range of different positions are likewise available as options.
Four-zone automatic air conditioning is available as a further option, providing individual adjustment of temperature, blower intensity and air distribution for each seat.
The new Panamera is the first Porsche to offer the most supreme standard of in-car audio quality, with the option of a High-End Surround Sound System from Burmester, the renowned Berlin audio specialist. Never before has such a large, acoustically effective experience been included in a new vehicle concept from the start, and subsequently implemented in the production vehicle.
The Burmester audio features more than 2,400 square centimeters of ‘sound membranes’ to deliver an audio experience very similar to that of a live concert. A total of 16 loudspeakers masterminded by 16 amplifier channels with an overall output of more than 1,000 watts provide a unique sound, complemented by an active subwoofer together with a 300 W Class D amplifier.
The superior, yet practical, driving qualities of the Panamera are borne out clearly by the luggage compartment. After opening the rear lid, the driver and passengers are able to conveniently stow four suitcases behind the rear seats – the convenient loading height means they can be placed into the luggage compartment in an upright position for easy access.
The luggage compartment capacity in the Panamera S and 4S is 445 liters or 15.6 cu ft, maximum stowage in the Panamera Turbo is 432 litres or 15.1 cu ft – and with the rear seat back rests folded, luggage capacity increases to an ample 1,250 litres or 43.8 cu ft.
Initially, the Panamera is entering the market with V8 power units only, featuring either rear or all-wheel drive. The Panamera S is powered by a 4.8-litre V8 developing a maximum output of 400 bhp (294 kW). Power is transmitted to the rear wheels by a six speed manual transmission as standard, or the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) double-clutch gearbox can be specified as an option.
The Panamera features Direct Fuel Injection engine technology, low-friction drive systems and lightweight bodyshells for optimum efficiency. Furthermore, offered in combination with the PDK transmission is the new Porsche Auto Start Stop function. This automatically switches off and restarts the engine when stationary to further reduce fuel consumption and emissions – for example, at traffic lights or in congestion.
The Panamera S, when fitted with the PDK option, can accelerate to 62mph (100 km/h) in 5.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 176mph (283 km/h). Combined fuel consumption to the EU5 standard, in turn, is 26.2 mpg (10.8 ltr/100 km) and the Co2 emission rating is 253 g/km. In conjunction with PDK transmission and including both 19 per cent VAT and specific national equipment, the Panamera S retails in Germany at a price of EUR 98,085.50.In Australia, the same vehicle with PDK will sell for AUD $270,200. We do not have pricing for other countries at this time. Fitted with its six-speed manual gearbox as standard, the Panamera S retails at a price of EUR 94,575, again including 19 per cent VAT and all national homologation features.
The dynamic Panamera 4S features a 4.8-litre V8 developing 400 bhp (294 kW) maximum output, with engine power conveyed to all four wheels via Porsche’s seven-speed PDK Doppelkupplungsgetriebe. In this case acceleration to 100 km/h comes in 5.0 seconds, top speed is 282 km/h or 175 mph. Fuel consumption to the EU5 standard is 11.1 ltr/100 km, equal to 25.4 mpg imp, CO2 emissions are 260 g/km. The retail price including 19 per cent VAT and national specifications is EUR102,251. In Australia, a similar specification will be sold for AUD 282,400.
At the head of the Panamera line-up is the Panamera Turbo, offering a twin-turbo 4.8-litre V8 developing 500 bhp (368 kW), with power transmitted again by the Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK). With all-wheel drive as standard, the Panamera Turbo accelerates to 62mph (100 km/h) in 4.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 188mph (303 km/h). Fuel consumption in the EU combined cycle is 23.2mpg (12.2 ltr/100 km) and Co2 emissions are 286 g/km. The retail price of the Panamera Turbo, finally, including 19 per cent VAT and national specifications, is EUR 135,154. In Australia, the same model with right hand drive will retail for AUD 364,900
All models come with Direct Fuel Injection, low-friction drive systems and lightweight bodyshells. And at the same time all models in the range fitted with Porsche PDK Doppelkupplungsgetriebe feature Porsche’s new Auto Start Stop function automatically switching off the engine when coming to a standstill and with the driver pressing down the brake pedal – for example at the traffic lights or in traffic congestion.
