Porsche Panamera Conversível

A Porsche pretende lançar uma versão conversível do Panamera. Esta versão do primeiro quatro portas da Porsche terá apenas duas portas, o motivo é manter o peso e a rigidez estrutural, a capota usada será de lona, pois o sistema da capota rígida é muito pesado.

O construtor alemão ainda não confirmou oficialmente o lançamento do Panamera Cabrio, no entanto, o responsável de desenvolvimento de produto, Wolfgang Duerheimer, já deixou no ar que planeiam novas variantes. “Temos 14 derivativos do 911 e todos eles são um sucesso. Então é lógico que também deveríamos diversificar a gama Panamera”, revelou o responsável de desenvolvimento de produto.

A nova direção da Porsche, agora liderada pelo presidente do Grupo VW, Martin Winterkorn, tem planos muito ambiciosos para a marca de desportivos, que passa por aumentar as vendas anuais de 100 mil para 150 mil carros por ano a partir de 2013.

Porsche Panamera goes for a cool RM1 million and up...only in Malaysia.

If you have ever owned a Porsche 2-door coupe/cabriolet be it the 986/987 Boxster/Cayman or the iconic 911, you must have felt frustrated at some point in time that you cannot share your Porsche experience beyond your other-half, better-half or whatever, best friend/pal/associate and at best, plus two midgets at the back ‘seats’ of a 911.

Porsche AG seems to have an answer to this dilemma of generosity, for those who do not want a cumbersome and not-so-handsome vehicle of an SUV like the Cayenne. Enter: Porsche's four-seater Gran Tourismo, the Panamera, which made a grand entrance to Malaysia at its official launch at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, last Saturday evening.

The event was graced by His Excellency the German Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Gunter Gruber and the cars were launched by Dato' Mokhzani Mahathir, chairman of Jaseri Automotive Group, the official importer of Porsche in Malaysia.

As its first four-door sports sedan/coupe, the Panamera is Porsche's answer to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A8. Three variants are available, the Panamera S, 4S and Turbo - the first two are powered by a 400hp/ 500Nm capable 4.8-litre naturally aspirated V8 with the difference being RWD and AWD. As with the 911 sports car, the top of the range is the Panamera Turbo sporting a twin-turbo charged V8, 4.8-litre engine that produces 500hp/700Nm combo!

According to Mokhzani, the best thing about the Panamera is its impressive lo fuel consumption, with claim figures of 10.8L per 100km for the S, 11.1L per 100km for the 4S and 12.1L per 100km for the Turbo. "This is achieved through technology and lightweight construction of the body such as the axles, bonnet, wings, doors and tailgate that are made of aluminium, the window frames and cylinder head cover from magnesium, among others. This saves on weight, and therefore fuel," he said.

The Panamera as with other Porsches, is highly customable: available in eight interior decor styles, six interior colours and four two-tone finishes in several leather variants.
The Panamera S retails from RM998, 000 (manual transmission), while the 4S is from RM1,118,000. The top-of-the-range Panamera Turbo will start from RM1,398,000. For more information, visit www.porsche.com, or visit your nearest Porsche Centre (Glenmarie in Shah Alam, KL City Centre or Penang).

2009 Porsche Panamera

Porsche’s completely new ‘sportscar’ for 2009, the Panamera, has been revealed to be a 4-door, 4-seater sports tourer/coupe. Set to make its world debut at Geneva Auto Salon in 2009, it will not be powered by the Boxster/Cayman/911 range of Porsche’s boxer engines. Instead, it will have V6 or V8 powerplants - much like the Cayenne’s - with output ranging from 300 to 500hp. In line with the 2008 facelift 911 (997) and the 2009 facelift Boxster (987)/Cayman (987c) range, this new Porsche ‘saloon’ will also boast of Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) and PDK twin clutch robotic-manual gearbox. The Panamera range will also have the top model designated as ‘Turbo’, which is very telling of what’s beneath the hood. By 2010, Porsche will likely extend the Panamera range by adding a hybrid version.

Design wise, it is claimed that the Panamera combines the sleek profile of a coupe, blending uniquely into a classical saloon body plus the benefits of a versatile interior - that can carry four occupants comfortably. Yet this all-new model lineup is still instantly recognisable as a Porsche.

In what is actually a five-door liftback - somewhat reminiscent (in concept) of the Toyota Corona Liftback or the Ford Telstar TX5/Mazda 626 Liftback of yesteryears - For Wheels reckon the new Panamera has that unique and characterful look that will grow on many, unlike the ugly-child in the Cayenne, when it was first unveiled in 2002. Even with Porsche's facelift exercise in 2007, the Cayenne did little to correct its ‘birth-defects’, only to pale aesthetically beside the Audi Q7 and even its much cheaper cousin, the VW Touareg.

The sporty 4-door ‘coupe’ Panamera measures almost 5-metres in length and is claimed to be bigger than a Mercedes-Benz E-Class or BMW 5-series (think: R-Class in extended ‘L’ guise e.g. R350L). From these early pictures, you can safely tell that the base model will be the Panamera S (rear-wheel drive) and with the addition of all-wheel drive, next step up, the Panamera 4S. The top-dog of the family will be none other than the Panamera Turbo, which will probably be AWD. Will there be a plain vanilla and ‘entry-level’ Panamera without the ‘S’ suffix in the vein of the Boxster, Cayman or Carrera? How about a Panamera GTS or Panamera Turbo S for even more snob factor and of course, that little more speed?