Porsche Panamera

Production

Engines are first assembled in Stuttgart, and the car's body is built and painted at the Volkswagen Group facility in Hannover. The final assembly of the vehicle takes place in Leipzig, Germany, alongside the Cayenne.
The Panamera is generally considered to be the long-awaited fruit of Porsche's 989 concept from the late 1980s; some argue that it also presents itself as a successor to the two-door 928, but there may be plans to develop a new 928 as well.
The Porsche Panamera is marketed as a direct competitor to automobiles such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG, Aston Martin Rapide, and Maserati Quattroporte. The Panamera may also be considered as a less expensive alternative to vehicles such as the Bentley Continental Flying Spur and the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG.
Production began in April 2009, one month after its debut in the Shanghai Motor Show in China. Porsche will keep production rate at around 20,000 cars per year.
Porsche has applied for patents on a four-door convertible version of the Panamera that keep the same general dimensions.

Etymology

The Panamera's name is derived, like the Porsche Carrera line, from the Carrera Panamericana race. Earlier prototypes and concepts of the four-door saloons, such as the 1991 Porsche 989 prototype, the four-door 911 based prototype, and the C88 concept (a supermini sedan built in Germany and sold for China), never went into production.

Publicity

On the 20 April 2007, a spy video of the Porsche Panamera became available on the Internet.
In September 2008, Porsche released the first teaser image for the Panamera. In early October 2008, an undisguised Panamera was captured on film in Busan, South Korea.
In November 2008, the first official image of the Panamera was leaked.
On 28 November 2008, Porsche sent a mailer containing two photos of the Panamera which were labeled as "the first official images of the Porsche Panamera" with an invitation to have online access to via Porsche USA's website.
The 30 November 2008 edition of Top Gear featured a look at the Panamera in its news section, with the three presenters critically comparing its looks to those of the Austin Maxi. On 21 May 2009 Richard Hammond and James May fromTop Gear were seen driving the Panamera along the A30 in Devon. They were racing against a letter sent via Royal Mail between the Isles of Scilly and the Orkney Islands. This episode was broadcast on the BBC on 12 July 2009. Jeremy Clarkson reviewed the Porsche Panamera for an article with The Times newspaper and said "Porsche plainly gave the job to a janitor".
On 19 April 2009, Porsche finally unveiled the Porsche Panamera saloon to the public at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show. One of the highlights of the Panamera's debut was fitting the car in the freight elevator of the Shanghai World Financial Center and sending it to the skyscraper's 94th floor.

Specifications

The naturally aspirated versions of the Panamera have rear-wheel drive as standard, while the Turbo version includes standard four-wheel drive with Porsche Traction Management (PTM). A notable addition is the all-new ZF Friedrichshafen supplied and developed 7-speed 7DT-75 PDK dual clutch transmission.
Currently, trim levels include the base model Panamera S, Panamera 4S and Panamera Turbo. US models include an engine start/stop system, and the Turbo version uses active aerodynamics with a multi-stage, adjustable rear spoiler.
The company plans to build 20,000 Panamera per year across the whole product cycle. The fourth Porsche model series is being manufactured at the Leipzig plant in the so-called model mix, sharing a production line with the Cayenne SUV.
Porsche debuted two further models on February 16, 2010: the V6 Panamera and Panamera 4. The Panamera will be available as a rear-wheel drive vehicle, while the Panamera 4 will have the Panamera 4S' four-wheel drive system. Both models will be available with six-cylinder engines producing 300 horsepower with the base model arriving with a manual transmission and the 7-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission available as standard equipment on the Panamera 4 and as an option for the Panamera. They will debut in the North American and European markets in June (following a release at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2010) with starting prices of $74,400 and $78,900 for the base and 4 models respectively.

Engines

Handling

The Panamera comes with the Porsche Traction Management (PTM), which is Porsche's name for its fully-controlled, four-wheel drive system. PTM is standard on both the Panamera 4S and the Panamera Turbo. Optional Sports Chrono Packages include a Sport Plus button, which has tighter damping and air springs, and lowers the car body by 25 mm (1.0 in).

Hybrid variation

In 2008, Porsche AG announced the development of a parallel hybrid system for the Panamera. According to Car and Driver, it may use a 3.6 litre V6 engine with a 34 kilowatts (46 hp) electric motor found in the Cayenne hybrid.