The 500-horsepower Panamera Turbo completed this task last week, securing a new world record for the European auto maker. We’d love to see a match-up between the two luxury car giants. (crosses fingers)

Source: Autoblog.com

According to World Car Fans: “The Panamera will be launching with, among others, a 4.8-litre V8 Panamera S making 298kW and a Turbo version featuring 373kW and 700Nm of torque. In the UK prices will start at £72,266 for a baseline Panamera S going up to £95,298 for the Turbo.”

Plant tours are free and can be booked online

Porsche has once again opened up its Leipzig plant to the public, allowing tours of the facility where the new Porsche Panamera is built.

Tours of the plant had been suspended for 8 months due to construction, as Porsche expanded the plant by 22,000 square meters to accommodate the increased production capacity required to assemble the new Panamera model.

Visitors are now permitted to experience the assembly of the Panamera at the Leipzig plant, located in the German state of Saxony, where the Cayenne SUV is also built. Tours are free and can be booked online at www.porsche-leipzig.com.

The Panamera is 4-door, 4-seat coupe/Gran Turismo model that will come with a couple of high-powered V8 engines, 400 hp for the rear-wheel drive Panamera S and all-wheel drive for the Panamera 4S and Panamera Turbo which packs 500hp, as well as a 300hp V6 for the base Panamera. Porsche promises a hybrid version will follow sometime later. The Panamera was premiered at the Auto Shanghai event on April 19 and will go on sale in Europe starting in September.

Klaus Berning, Executive Vice-President Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG, expressed a clear view at the world debut of the Panamera: ”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. Like no other car in its class, it offers a truly unique combination of sporting performance and luxurious comfort. Despite its low and sleek silhouette so typical of Porsche, the Panamera, measuring 4.97 metres (195.7”) in length but only 1.42 metres (55.9”) in height, ensures a generous feeling of space on all four seats.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, Porsche’s Executive Vice-President Research and Development, 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 as world premieres to be admired for the first time in the luxury performance class – among them the first 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, extendable rear spoiler on the Panamera Turbo.

Porsche’s Gran Turismo sets new standards in its market segment in terms of performance, driving dynamics and efficiency, benefiting from Porsche’s traditional core competences and years of experience in motorsport, since efficient and powerful engines, lightweight technologies, and optimized aerodynamics are crucial to success also on the race track. All models in the Panamera range come with Porsche Direct Fuel Injection, low-friction drive systems, and weight-optimized lightweight bodies.

Moving on to the suspension, the customer can choose among steel suspension or adaptive air suspension with a fully-controlled damper system. And thanks to its intelligent chassis concept, the Panamera combines the driving comfort of a luxurious grand touring saloon with the driving dynamics of a thoroughbred Porsche sports car.

Depending on his individual style of motoring or current traffic conditions, the driver can choose either a particularly comfortable or an especially sporting set-up most conveniently at the touch of a button.

With its center console extending back from the dashboard all the way to the rear seats, Porsche’s new Gran Turismo offers an unprecedented feeling of space and motoring pleasure on all four seats, highlighting the personal ambiance and style of each individual passenger. The driver’s seat and cockpit offers optimum ergonomics all round, a low seating position providing that direct contact to the road again so typical of Porsche. The passengers, in turn, all enjoy highly comfortable single seats.

The luxuriously appointed interior, finally, already offering a supreme standard on the regular series models, may naturally be upgraded on request by a wide range of optional extras and special equipment.

With that, we at Porschepedia is more than happy to introduce official 2010 Panamera interior photographs.

Porsche’s Panamera is set to debut with a price tag over $120K. With that a driver will receive an all-wheel drive Turbo feature, including a 4.8-liter V8 with 500 horse power. This gives you a take off time of 0-60 in just around 4 seconds, and a top speed of 188 miles per hour.

Internal features include The Panamera S and 4S feature front comfort seats with eight-way power adjustment while the two rear passengers are treated to individual seats and a folding center armrest. The Panamera Turbo gets front passengers power seats with lumbar support and electrical steering column adjustment. Of course a variety of sport seats will be available on all models, but in typical Porsche fashion, prepare to shell out a good chunk of change.

Options for the new GT car include a high-end surround sound system by Burmester, automatic climate control, rear side airbags, and the company’s new double-clutch seven-speed transmission. Check out more in the Official Porsche Press Release below.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is for the first time presenting the innovative interior concept of the company’s fourth model series.

Right from the start upon the introduction of the Panamera beginning in Germany on 12 September 2009, the Panamera will be available in its top versions with a V8 power unit and luxurious features.

Boasting a centre console leading back all the way from the dashboard to the rear seats, Porsche’s four-door Gran Turismo offers a new feeling of space and driving quality on all four seats. The interior provides optimum ergonomic conditions for the driver and, in addition, accentuates the personal privacy of each passenger on four single seats tailored to each occupant. The low seating position and the sporting, low-slung steering wheel ensure that direct feeling for the road so typical of Porsche.

Apart from these classic values, the Panamera offers the customer numerous options and possibilities to customise the interior individually to his or her personal choice, smooth and natural leather available in a total of 13 colour and material combinations including four bi-colour options teaming up wherever required with seven optional interior trim finish styles including exclusive materials such as Carbon and Olive Nature open-pore wood.

Four-zone automatic air conditioning is available as an option, providing individual adjustment of temperature, blower intensity and air distribution on each seat.
The driver and passengers in the new Panamera are protected by driver and front passenger airbags, curtain airbags as well as – on the front seats – side and knee airbags all ensuring maximum safety as standard features in the event of an accident. Side airbags are furthermore available at the rear as an optional feature.

The comfort seats featured as standard at the front of the Panamera S and 4S are extra-sporting in style and adjust electrically in eight different directions for excellent travel comfort at all times. At the rear two single seats with a folding centre armrest ensure generous legroom and headroom also for tall passengers.

The Panamera Turbo combines electrical seat adjustment with a Comfort Memory Package offering not only extension of the seat bottom, but also lumbar supports and electrical steering column adjustment. Further alternatives such as adaptive sports seats or comfort seats at the rear electrically adjustable to a wide range of different positions are likewise available as an option.

The new Panamera is the first Porsche to offer the most supreme standard of high-end audio quality, the High-End Surround Sound System from the Berlin audio specialist Burmester, one of the most renowned high-end audio companies in the world. Never before has such a large, acoustically effective surface of membranes been included in the concept from the start and subsequently implemented in the actual production vehicle. More than 2,400 square centimetres of sound membranes offer an experience in sound very similar to that of a live concert. In all, 16 loudspeakers masterminded by 16 amplifier channels with more than 1,000 W overall output provide a unique sound rounded off by an active subwoofer together with a 300 W Class D amplifier.

The superior everyday driving qualities of the Panamera are borne out clearly also by the luggage compartment and loading concept: After opening the rear lid, the driver and passengers are able to conveniently stow four suitcases behind the rear seats – putting them into the luggage compartment in an upright position for easy access thanks to the height available.
Luggage compartment capacity in the Panamera S and 4S is 445 litres or 15.6 cu ft, luggage compartment capacity in the Panamera Turbo is 432 litres or 15.1 cu ft – and with the rear seat backrests tilted down, luggage capacity increases to an ample 1,250 litres or 43.8 cu ft.

The Panamera is initially entering the market with V8 power units only, featuring either rear or all-wheel drive. Right from the start, the entry-level Panamera S is powered by a 4.8-litre V8 developing maximum output of 400 bhp (294 kW). Power is transmitted to the rear wheels as an option by Porsche’s seven-speed Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) or double-clutch gearbox.

Acceleration to 100 km/h comes in 5.4 seconds, top speed is 283 km/h or 176 mph. Combined fuel consumption to the EU5 standard, in turn, is 10.8 ltr/100 km, equal to 26.2 mpg imp, and the CO2 emission rating is 253 g/km.

In conjunction with PDK transmission and including both 19 per cent VAT and specific national equipment, the Panamera S retails in Germany at a price of Euro 98,085.50.

Fitted with its six-speed manual gearbox as standard, the Panamera S retails at a price of Euro 94,575, again including 19 per cent VAT and all national homologation features.

The dynamic Panamera 4S features a 4.8-litre V8 developing 400 bhp (294 kW) maximum output, with engine power conveyed to all four wheels via Porsche’s seven-speed PDK Doppelkupplungsgetriebe. In this case acceleration to 100 km/h comes in 5.0 seconds, top speed is 282 km/h or 175 mph. Fuel consumption to the EU5 standard is 11.1 ltr/100 km, equal to 25.4 mpg imp, CO2 emissions are 260 g/km. The retail price including 19 per cent VAT and national specifications is Euro 102,251.

Ranking right at the top, the Panamera Turbo features a 4.8-litre V8 biturbo developing maximum output of 500 bhp (368 kW), with power transmitted again by Porsche’s seven-gear Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK). In this case this all-wheel-drive model accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 303 km/h or 188 mph. Fuel consumption in the EU combined cycle is 12.2 ltr/100 km, equal to 23.2 mpg imp, CO2 emissions are 286 g/km. The retail price of the Panamera Turbo, finally, including 19 per cent VAT and national specifications, is Euro 135,154.

All models come with Direct Fuel Injection, low-friction drive systems and lightweight body shells. And at the same time all models in the range fitted with Porsche PDK Doppelkupplungsgetriebe feature Porsche’s new Auto Start Stop function automatically switching off the engine when coming to a standstill and with the driver pressing down the brake pedal – for example at the traffic lights or in traffic congestion.