Dear readers, while I am a current resident of the great state of California, I will always consider Dayton, Ohio, to be home sweet home. And while it's unfortunate that I am unable to make it home for the Thanksgiving holiday, I have this cute little Web video to remind me of the good-ol' Midwest as CarAndDriver.com takes the 2010 Porsche Panamera for a 24-hour tour of Dayton and its surrounding suburban Ohio neighbors.
The premise here is that the CarAndDriver.com guys are going to take turns driving the 2010 Porsche Panamera sport sedan all around the Dayton, Ohio region nonstop for 24 hours to see what they think about driving the car and being in it for an extended period of time. The reviews and comments are generally positive, with many of the test drivers rating the Porsche Panamera with high regards. But what makes this clip special to me is all the beautiful architecture and green scenery of rural Ohio, reminding me so much of home. If you are able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with your family, please do so and let your loved ones know that you cherish these times together. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
If you're a Porsche fan, I'm sure you may have a curiosity about how these revered automobiles are made. I'm in the same boat as you, and I found this neat little video that puts you right on the production line and watch these fine German assembly workers work their magic in putting together the much-talked about 2010 Panamera - Porsche's very first sedan model.
Unfortunately there's no real audio or narration to help guide us through this process, but I have been able to discern a few details about what you see going on in this video. Porsche has done everything possible to make the Panamera as light as possible but still maintain the sports car power that it is known for. Instrumental to that notion and the sports car handling of this car is due to its unique make of advanced steel, aluminum and magnesium as well as the centrally placed V8 engine that sits as low and far back under the hood as possible. Also throughout this video we get to see everything from the installation of the bi-xenon headlights, the doors, the leather upholstery, the bucket seats and more. It's neat - check it out.
I was doing research for last week's blog about the gas guzzlin' class of 2010 automobiles, and along the way I had read some not-so-positive notes about the 2010 Porsche Cayenne GTS and its rather low gas to mileage ratio. That's too bad; it looks nice on the outside.
Also along the way I began picking up some articles about the 2010 Porsche Panamera, which reportedly marks the German auto maker's first stab at designing and manufacturing a sedan. But if you're thinking that Porsche has traded in horsepower for childproof locks and wood panels, you couldn't be farther away from the truth.
What Porsche has done with the Panamera is put together a sedan with a faux-hatchback rear that still maintains Porsche's signature body style and plenty of kick under the hood. The basic Panamera's V8 revs up in the neighborhood of 400 or so horses, but the twin turbo is said to clock in at more than 500 horsepower--try that in your station wagon! And don't forget about the Panamera's 28 luxury options all at your fingertips. Price tag? I'll let you speculate on that; all I know is I can't afford it.
This exceptional Web video comes from the car geeks at Edmunds.com as they have fun-fun-fun on the Autobahn along the beautiful Bavarian mountains. The driving environment is almost as breathtaking as seeing the Panamera hugging the curves and blasting through the fog. You can tell by the headlights that it's a Porsche, but only once it passes would you say to yourself, "Whoa, was that a Porsche with four doors? Is the world off its axis or what?" Stranger things have happened my friend, so just sit back and enjoy the ride.
The Panamera featured in this promo video rolled into dealerships this weekend.
The four-passenger sports car is available with two engine options, a 400-horsepower, 4.8-liter V-8 and a 500-horsepower, twin-turbocharged version of the same block, that goes from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds flat.
The Panamera is positioned to compete with to the Audi A8, BMW M5 and 7 Series, Maserati Quattroporte, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
The four-door 2010 Porsche Panamera goes on sale in the U.S. in October.
(Credit: YouTube.com)After months of slowly releasing teaser videos and photos, Porsche finally unveiled at the Shanghai motor show its first four-door sports car that can truly fit four full-sized adults.
... Read MoreSirius XM may soon file for Chapter 11, we get a peek inside the new Porsche Panamera, ripping around in Audi's S8, and will Uncle Sam pick up the tax & interest on your next new car?
Listen now: Download today's podcast
SHOW NOTES
The new Panamera brings a fresh name to the car audio world: Burmester
(Credit: Porsche Cars North America (PCNA))• Sirius XM may soon be in Chapter 11
• New details and pics of Porsche Panamera
• Acura TSX about to sprout a V6
The Panamera
(Credit: Porsche)The Panamera is a different kind of Porsche.
It's a four-door sedan, a really fast sedan. The Panamera S at $89,800 comes with a 400hp 4.8-liter V8, capable of punching out 0-to-60 mph in 5.2 seconds and a top speed of 175 mph. Not quick enough for you? Move up to the Panamera Turbo, with a twin-turbo 4.8-liter V8, 0-to-60 mph in 4 seconds, and a top speed of 188. That bad boy will retail for $132,600.
So why is the Audiophiliac filling space with upcoming German super sedans? 'Cause they're going to have totally awesome ultra-high-end audio systems from Berlin manufacturer Burmester Audiosysteme. I love of the idea of matching super-performance luxury cars with bona-fide high-end audio systems. Hey, if Porsche buyers happily pay an extra $42,000 (!) to go a little faster, why not also spring for a sweet sound system?
For Panamera, Burmester crafted a 16 channel amplifier system that drives, you guessed it, 16 loudspeakers. The speaker system was designed specifically for the Panamera. In keeping with the Panamera's spirit as a true sports car, the sound system's weight was a key concern.
Specially developed software-supported menu functions allow for precise sound contouring for each individual seating position. They can also compensate for cabin and engine noise, and use proprietary sound algorithms developed exclusively for Porsche. Funny, the press release didn't mention an iPod dock, but I'm sure it's in there.
The Panamera is set to go on sale in the U.S. on October 17.
Click the image to view more photos of the Panamera's interior.
(Credit: Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) )Porsche AG released official photos and details of its upcoming Panamera's "cockpit for four." We've already had a look at the exterior and seen some blurry pictures of the dashboard, but this is our first clear look at the gran turismo's interior.
Porsche will offer the interior in 13 color and material combinations, including four two-tone leather interiors and seven interior trim options, from carbon fiber to Natural Olive wood.
Cabin tech comes in the form of a new ultra high-end surround sound system from renowned Berlin audio manufacturer Burmester. While this is the first that we've heard from Burmester here at Car Tech, we're anxious to give this 16-speaker plus a subwoofer, 1,000 plus watt audio system a listen.
The Panamera will also be available with the latest connectivity features, including Bluetooth, Porsche's Universal Audio Interface for connecting personal audio devices, and satellite radio.
This being "spare no expense" Porsche, the cabin is luxuriously appointed with an available four-zone climate control system giving each of the four seats temperature, air distribution, and venting direction control. Spec a Panamera S or 4S and you get eight-way power seats in front with a driver memory package. Spec a Turbo and you also get an electronically adjustable steering wheel. Buyers with money to burn can further choose optional 18-way Adaptive Sport Seats (which we assume feature some sort of active bolstering, like the Mercedes-Benz CL 550 tested earlier) or fully adjustable eight-way power seats in the rear.
The Panameras will be available with two engine options, a 400-horsepower, 4.8-liter V-8 and a 500-horsepower, twin-turbocharged version of the same block. Porsche's PDK double-clutch transmission is standard, as is Porsche Direct Fuel Injection (DFI).
Here's something that threw us for a loop: For additional fuel savings, all Panameras include an engine stop-start function that can turn off and restart the engine at certain times, like when stopped at an intersection or in traffic. Nice, I'll take my Porsche in green, please.
The rear-wheel drive Panamera S has an MSRP of $89,800. Upgrade to the all-wheel-drive Panamera 4S for $93,800. Finally, the big boy, 500-horsepower Panamera Turbo, with its 0-to-60 time of 4 seconds flat, comes in at $132,600. All three Panamera models will go on sale in the United States this October.
The real Porsche Panamera is unveiled,2008 is going down as the worst car year in a generation, another navigation device gets an Internet connection, and we pass on the Lexus RX400h.
Listen now:
Download today's podcast
SHOW NOTES
• TeleNav Shotgun connected GPS
• Tiger calls it quits with GM
Click to view more photos of the Porsche Panamera.
(Credit: Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) )Porsche's upcoming Panamera, err, wagon (or as I like to call it, the Cayenne for acrophobes) has been revealed in all of its officially photographed glory.
Based on the specs released by Porsche, the Panamera is slightly longer than the Cayenne and much shorter vertically. In the photos, we can see the dual-element headlamps with integrated turn signals, which were introduced on the new 911 and continued on the freshly minted Cayman and Boxter. We also see the air dam-located daytime running lamps. The profile is decidedly Porsche, albeit a bit distorted to make room for the two additional doors. All in all, it looks much better than we thought it would, in the photos at least. Viewed from the front quarter angle, the Panamera's coupe-like roofline does a fairly good job of hiding the vehicle's mass, which is painfully obvious from the rear.
Set to officially debut in Spring 2009 and hit dealers by the Fall of the same year, Porsche is still keeping its cards close to its vest as far as power-train details are concerned. What we can expect are engine options similar to those on the Cayenne, starting with a V-6 that makes about 300 horsepower and peaking with a turbocharged V-8, similar to the one in the Cayenne Turbo S, making around 500 horsepower. All engines will feature direct-injection technology and six-speed manual and seven-speed PDK transmission options, with power being sent through the rear wheels or all wheels.
Porsche also is preparing a fuel-efficient version of the Panamera with hybrid drive.
