str8line

I just got my Christophorus, the Porsche magazine. There is a shot of a silver Panamera on the cover from the 3/4 front view and 4 large photos inside from the front, side and rear 3/4. It looks good. I actually am shocked, but to my eyes it looks [I]really[I] good. I didn't expect to like the car based on all of the spy shots I've seen, which had me thinking the car would be fugly. However, I would definitely buy this car. It has a look that is vaguely reminiscent of the Maserati's, with a hint of Corvetteness in the hood, but otherwise I can't think of another car that looks like it. I guess it has a distinctive look, and that is a good thing in my eyes. It looks squat, sporty and dare I say elegant? Yes, I think it has an expensive look to it, like the Maserati's. Even the rear 3/4 view looks good, and it is a view that is utterly distinctive.

I'll be interested to hear what other people think.

Carrera GT

I think the car does look good -- for what it is -- from just the right angle. If you squint a bit. And let the rose colored Porschephile glasses take effect. But squint all you like, the cabin is an embarrassing disaster area that is the exact opposite of every step of progress we've seen in cabin ergonomics (and aesthetics) in the last two decades. The cabin in the Cayenne was bad from day one and it's the part of the car that's received little or no attention since its misbegotten inception. So I don't expect to see Porsche about face on the cabin design of the Panamisery for years to come. Which is a pity because when they come out with a hybrid diesel electric version, I could see it being useful. Bringing out a heavy, gas guzzler family sports sedan today seems like a low volume proposition at best (to put it politely.) The novelty will wear off as quickly as the sheen on all those plastic buttons as they fill with bagel crums and coffee spills from the inevitable "driving is just one of many things I multi-task in the morning" commuters.

bigs

There are also Panamera features in Car and Driver and Road & Track currently.

I think it's a very nice-looking car, considering it's meant to be a 4-door sedan. The only somewhat awkward-looking feature is the rear aspect of the roofline. It makes the rear quarter of the car look a bit stubby. But then you gotta have sufficient rear passenger headroom if you're gonna have a true 4-person people hauler.

I think when the 2-door coupe/GT comes out, it will be flat-out gorgeous.

str8line

I guess you got a headache from squinting.

I thought it was odd that they didn't have the interior pics in Christophorus. The shots I have seen don't excite me in the way the Maserati Granturismo interior does, but I have only seen a shot of the center console and drivers side. I'd like to see shots of the whole interior. From what I've seen though I wouldn't call the interior a "disaster".

The Panamera makes the Quatroporte look obese, and I think it rivals even the beautiful Granturismo. Of course it has four doors and is a Porsche and for that reason alone I always thought it would sell, but now that it looks good I think it might meet their sales goals even in the current economy(anyone know what their sales goals are?).

I've always been amazed at all of the Cayenne's in my area, and it seems only a small percentage of them are the base model. I would think that a substantial number of people who want a Porsche but need more space than the 911/Boxster/Cayman will now purchase the Panamera instead of the Cayenne. Or maybe even people that otherwise want a 911 get a Panamera instead just for the increased utility. These assumptions are based on the Panamera living up to the Porsche driving experience, which I'm sure it will.

I know that had the Panamera been around when I bought my 911 it would have been tougher decision since I have two children(3 and 5) that will in a few years be getting cramped in the backseat of the 911. The only other cars on my radar when I bought the 911 were the M3 four-door and the Granturismo.

But beyond possibly cannibalizing Porsche's own sales what will the Panamera do to sales of the BMW 6 series or Mercedes CLS/SL, which are probably some of its main targets?

Bill P.

As a comparison, the car is 7" longer and 2" wider than my Lexus GX470 (SUV). Yet it is 10" shorter and 2.5" wider than the Merc S550. Large, but not too large, IMO. However, you will need to be careful parking due to the width. I'd be interested in seeing them in person.

Bill P.

str8line, the Porsche web site indicates a planned production run of 20,000 units...

Carrera GT

Oh dear. Comparing the Panableccha to both the QP and the 911. This just won't do! A touch-typing wall-of-words follows. : )

I imagine Porsche studied the effects of various model introductions on the performance of existing models in the adjacent brands. Surely BMW, Mercedes and Audi all provided ample data. Now that the Cayenne is firmly set in place, I suppose there will be some degrees of crossover in sales, but the new customer acquisition trend is more important than a customer moving from a Cayenne to a Panamera or a new customer choosing a Panamera over a Cayenne. No 911 buyer will be rubbing his or her chin and considering the fatted cash cow as an alternative -- if the buyer takes the Panamucho, they were never there for a Carrera in the first place.

To my eye, the Panachubba makes the Maserati QP all the more artful, lithe and appealing. Even the aging CLS is the same job done better, but Porsche somehow -- perhaps in a "decision by committee" -- ended up with a full size family chariot for the status conscious dad, nothing like the early M5 that I had hoped Porsche would deliver: six cylinders with the option to pay for forced induction power, an athletic 3600lb, PDK, rewarding in its own right and even fun at the track or taken out for no other purpose than to drive.

Personally, I think the notion of comparing a 911 with the Pana-big-mumma is not a real world consideration. Driving the Panachubba (no, I still can't find the right blend of humor and derision) will be like driving any two- or three-ton sports sedan and bears no connection to the 911.

This lumber, clumsy oaf will not be the spice of life, it will be the status symbol of the mindless mid-level management drone, it will be the over-priced chariot of the "never a mini-van" mum. It will show up for novelty value at track events and we'll all have to smell the tires and the brake pads as we wait for the point-by or wander over in the paddock out of morbid curiosity: "So the coolant hose bursts on these? I guess they'll get a TSB out on that pretty quick." Memories of the first 996 Turbo. It will be as welcome in a 911 garage as shuffling down the aisle of crowded red-eye flight to find you're seated next to the suicidally obese guy in a sweaty polyester suit and a high stress commission-only traveling sales job.

I think this is a car that has a place in the line-up and that place is to turn a profit as hefty as its own girth ... and allow Porsche to keep going with that 911 Lightweight project I keep daydreaming about ... The Pandemonium has no place in a comparison with a 911 though I'm sure all the usual media dolts will feel compelled. And on that note, I look forward to likes of Excellence to stand their ground, embrace their benefactor and yet find the candor to speak frankly about the strengths and weaknesses of the new Porsche profit vehicle.

Looking at all the money spent by dealers under duress from PCNA to renovate their dealerships, I wonder just how discordant and "mall-like" a Porsche showroom floor will be as you walk in the front door. Imagine a Boxster and Cayman rolled into the corner too close to fully open the doors on both sides, a single 911 in the "new" (997.2) appearance (the "old" cars sitting outside in the rain) and a single Cayenne and Panamera taking up a lot of space up front, not leaving enough space to show a Turbo without it looking oddly dwarfed if it gets too close to the chubby twins, Tweedle dee and tweedle dum.

I've opposed the arbitrary and baseless attempts to give the 928 some redemption by positioning it as a predecessor to the Panablanda. But now I see the two as quite alike -- and in no good way. The 928 has its merits and deserved a better introduction to the world. Perhaps the Panameager also deserves a better time to come to market. I admit that I'd be much more like to buy a Porsche just out of brand loyalty if the economy were not facing a global winter. But it's not just economics. The 928 was an answer to a question that the customer did not ask and an expensive one at that. The Panabloata is the wrong answer to the question already answered by other car makers. The 928 was withdrawn from market just as it was becoming a viable competitor, but its sales were never there. I wonder if perhaps the Panablunda with be withdrawn too, though I fear the Porsche execs are now at the peril of their greatest enemy: their own egos.

russo

Carrera, I agree with your lengthy discourse. I am still wondering what the
designer's and management at Porsche were thinking. 20,000 units is, in my opinion, a dream. I don't care how much performance the spin masters babble about, but a 4400 lbs car has the law of physics to consider. Furthermore, I doubt that anyone purchasing this vehicle does so with the thought of Porsche performance. Hence, Porsche has to compete with established sport sedans from BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Maserati. If Porsche thinks that they are going to convince potential buyers to purchase their toxic experiment, they are wrong. The Cayenne works very well, because it offers a unique and stylish package, and of course the numbers sold is a testament to that fact. Good luck Porsche, because you will need it, especially in today's economic doomsday scenario.

FlatSix911

Your analysis is spot on ... the Panacea is truly a white elephant...

russo

This car is an example of Porsche management egos out of control. They really think that anything they come up with will sell, simply because it's a Porsche. I think the market will impart a harsh judgement on this vehicle.