Porsche Panamera makes World Debut in Shanghai

Porsche presented the Panamera to the world public today, Monday April 20, at the 13th Shanghai Auto Show in China. The new four-door Panamera Gran Turismo enters the marketplace on September 12 2009, and joins the Boxster roadster, Cayman coupe, iconic 911 sports car, and Cayenne all-wheel drive in the Porsche product portfolio.

The Panamera is making its debut with a normally-aspirated 400bhp V8 petrol engine and a twin-turbocharged 500bhp V8 petrol engine, and in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive chassis configurations. A six-cylinder petrol engine and hybrid-powered derivatives will join the range later.

Klaus Berning, Executive Vice-President Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG, expressed a clear view at the unveiling of the new Porsche. ”Introducing the Panamera, we are entering a market segment completely new for our customers and we are once again consistently expanding our model portfolio.“

Through its design and looks alone, the Panamera clearly stands out from the competition at very first sight. The Panamera offers the low and sleek silhouette that is typical of a Porsche, measuring 4.97 metres (195.7”) in length but only 1.42 metres (55.9”) in height, but these dimensions cloak a generous feeling of space for four people inside.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, Executive Vice-President Research and Development of Porsche AG, added an equally clear statement: “Our engineers, technicians, and designers have invested all their know-how, years of experience, a wealth of ideas, and their full passion for sports cars in this four-seater Gran Turismo.“

The Panamera is introducing no less than five outstanding innovations in technology to be admired for the first time in the luxury performance car class – among them the first engine Start-Stop system in conjunction with automatic transmission, air suspension with additional air volume available on demand in each spring, as well as active aerodynamics with an adjustable, multi-dimensional extending rear spoiler on the Panamera Turbo.

The Panamera sets new standards in its market segment in terms of performance, driving dynamics and efficiency. As expected, the car benefits from the traditional Porsche core competencies and years of experience in motorsport, since efficient and powerful engines, lightweight technologies, and optimised aerodynamics are also crucial to success on the race track. All models in the Panamera range come with Porsche Direct Fuel Injection engines, low-friction drive systems, and optimised lightweight bodies.

The rear-wheel drive Porsche Panamera S is offered with a six-speed manual gearbox. The seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) double-clutch transmission is available as an option. The Panamera 4S and Turbo have four-wheel drive and feature the PDK gearbox as standard. The active all-wheel drive system is controlled by Porsche Traction Management (PTM) via a multi-plate clutch that adjusts the engine power distribution between the front and rear axles for increased grip and agility.