Photo: Porsche
Seven years after Porsche introduced its first five four-door grand tourer, the second-gen Panamera continues the story.
Even though it was presented and priced two months or so ago, the 2017 Porsche Panamera has just entered production, right after the final first-generation Panamera left the assembly line in Leipzig, Germany.
Call it ugly, call it disproportionate, call it as fat as a decoy for a whaling ship, call it whatever. The truth of the matter is, easy does it. And to our surprise, Porsche has addressed the wrongs of the first generation with plenty of style and knockout seductiveness. Other than the way it looks, the Panamera also happens to be the fastest sedan around the grueling Nurburgring, provided that you pony up top dollar for a fully loaded Turbo.
On this occasion, however, the ugly duckling is the star of the show. Dirk Kolar, the director of manufacturing at the Porsche Leipzig, has only good things to tell us about the polarizing first generation: “With the launch of the Panamera in 2009, we tapped into a completely new segment. The sports saloon has gone on to both define and inspire us,” concluded the official.
The final example of the breed is the blue-painted Panamera GTS in the featured photograph. In other words, you’re looking at a pretty heavy car with 440 PS on tap and a suggested retail price of at least $113,400. It’s also capable of 179 mph (288 km/h) and a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) of 4.2 seconds, specs that aren’t bad at all for a 4,244-pounds (1,925 kg) car with four seats.
According to Porsche, the first-generation Panamera proved very popular in places like China and the United States of America. Believe it or not, more than half of all Panamera models produced from calendar year 2009 to August 2016 found their home in the said countries.
The second generation of the Panamera is now manufactured entirely at the plant in Leipzig, while the 4.0L twin-turbo V8 is made in Zuffenhausen.
Call it ugly, call it disproportionate, call it as fat as a decoy for a whaling ship, call it whatever. The truth of the matter is, easy does it. And to our surprise, Porsche has addressed the wrongs of the first generation with plenty of style and knockout seductiveness. Other than the way it looks, the Panamera also happens to be the fastest sedan around the grueling Nurburgring, provided that you pony up top dollar for a fully loaded Turbo.
On this occasion, however, the ugly duckling is the star of the show. Dirk Kolar, the director of manufacturing at the Porsche Leipzig, has only good things to tell us about the polarizing first generation: “With the launch of the Panamera in 2009, we tapped into a completely new segment. The sports saloon has gone on to both define and inspire us,” concluded the official.
The final example of the breed is the blue-painted Panamera GTS in the featured photograph. In other words, you’re looking at a pretty heavy car with 440 PS on tap and a suggested retail price of at least $113,400. It’s also capable of 179 mph (288 km/h) and a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) of 4.2 seconds, specs that aren’t bad at all for a 4,244-pounds (1,925 kg) car with four seats.
According to Porsche, the first-generation Panamera proved very popular in places like China and the United States of America. Believe it or not, more than half of all Panamera models produced from calendar year 2009 to August 2016 found their home in the said countries.
The second generation of the Panamera is now manufactured entirely at the plant in Leipzig, while the 4.0L twin-turbo V8 is made in Zuffenhausen.
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