The second-generation Porsche Panamera is more than meets the eye. Simply put, it is the four-door 911 we’ve always wished for.
If you’re not interested in things such as the 4.0-liter biturbo V8 engine and what makes the 2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo the fastest sedan to lap the Nurburgring, then I’m much obliged to talk you through the techy stuff that makes the German full-size sedan a technological masterpiece.
The peeps at Porsche have always been one step behind as far as infotainment is concerned. I especially hate that Porsche bathes the driver in a plethora of physical buttons. The all-new generation of the Panamera changed all that. Other than the switch to touch-sensitive buttons on the center console, the nicely appointed cabin is dominated by a 12.3-inch touchscreen through which the driver controls the infotainment system.
For this generation of the Porsche Communication System (PCM), the German manufacturer went all out. Thanks to the smartphone-inspired interface and the ability to customize the startup menu with the widgets used most often by the driver, the learning curve should be a breeze in the Panamera. Let me list some of the most basic equipment: a rather obsolete CD/DVD player, two USB ports, two SD card slots, and 10 GB of media storage for your MP3s.
As if that wasn’t enough, the PCM in the 2017 Porsche Panamera can mirror the screen of your iPhone via the Apple CarPlay function. Through a feature called Porsche Connect, iPhone and Apple Watch users can remotely control a handful of vehicle functions or query vehicle data. A high-speed 4G LTE telephone module with an integrated Wi-Fi hotspot is also on the menu for those who go for the top-of-the-range Connect Plus package.
More info on this array of technology is available in the release below.
Editor’s note: For those who wonder why the kid in the commercial below is adamant that the Internet is as fast as 360 km/h (223 mph), that’s because the 4G LTE telephone module in the 2017 Porsche Panamera can handle 1 Gbps at speeds of up to 360 km/h. That’s a bit of an overkill when you consider that the speedometer in the Panamera Turbo tops at 350 km/h (217 mph).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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