2015 Panamera: The Batmobile & U.S.S. Enterprise Rolled Into One?
This really has us reconsidering the first-generation Panamera.
Now well into its second generation, the Panamera finally feels like the sedan Porsche should be building. But the first-generation car was a different story. Other than maybe the Cayenne, the 970-Series Panamera seemed to be the whipping boy of the Porsche lineup – at least to the snobs. It wasn’t particularly good looking. Its engine was in the wrong end, it was heavy, and most importantly, it had four doors.
That was more than enough for purists to dismiss it out of hand. But then, like any unwarranted Porsche hate, it tends to disappear once you, you know, actually drive one. That’s why we find it so refreshing to hear an owner defend his first-generation Panamera. Not only does Brian Volk-Weiss love his big Porsche, he tells The Wall St. Journal that he thinks it’s “the most beautiful production car on the road.”
Hear him out here. In 2015, the CEO of Los Angeles-based Comedy Dynamics decided to buy a new car. At the outset, he had lofty goals in mind:
I knew this new car would be the last I would ever buy that was not electric and not driving itself. It would be the last that has a direct connection in every important way to the Model T, whereas the next car I buy after that will have more in common with cars that will be made 100 years from now.
Based on this criteria, a Porsche seems like the logical conclusion. Straddling the line between an analog past and a digital future, Porsches are fast yet livable and seem appropriately “crazy” enough to make someone like Brian happy.
It goes without saying that most of us would opt for the 911 of our dreams. Or maybe a Cayman GT4. But not Brian. “The moment I sat in the Panamera, I had this instant sensation that I was sitting in the 1989 Batmobile,” he says. “It is not a perfect analogy, but you will not find a production car that looks more like the Batmobile from the Michael Keaton “Batman” era than a black Panamera.” Full disclosure: We’ve never bought a car based on how much it looks like the Batmobile, but we can’t disagree with Brian here.
Now, three-plus years later, he’s still madly in love with his Panamera. The life-long Star Trek fan has dubbed his car the Enterprise, complete with custom black serial numbers that mimic the starships’ painted on the front and rear of his car. He and his kids still get a thrill every time they climb inside. “It is graceful, confident,” he says. “I cannot think of a car that compares, that costs less than a quarter of a million dollars.”
So the next time you hear someone knock the first-generation Panamera, think of Brian. Yes, it may not be as lithe or as fast as a 911 Turbo, but it’s his dream car. Plus, he gets to drive “the Batmobile and the Enterprise all in one” to work every day. Do you?
