New Panamera Turbo is a Four-Door 911, Says Motor1
Blasphemy? Maybe, but even a group of 911 enthusiasts were stunned by the Panamera as they struggled to keep up with it on a windy road.
The Porsche 911 is the automaker’s golden child, the vehicle that’s at the top of the rung when it comes to defining what a sports car is and was in the past. It’s the benchmark that other automakers hope to reach with its cars. But Porsche has always marked the lines between the 911 and its other vehicles extremely well, until now.
Motor1 got behind the wheel of the 2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo, which is where the photos are from, and boldly called the sedan “the four-door 911.” That’s bad news for Porsche, but great news for everyone else. The outlet tested the sedan on Los Angeles’ Angeles Crest Highway with a group of classic 911 owners before being “convinced the car I’m driving is a four-door Porsche 911.”
The engine, a 4.0-liter twin-turbo cranking out 550 horsepower, is a great unit. “This engine is fantastic, with incredibly linear power delivery and no weird ‘turbo moments’ of sudden boost,” says Motor1. “There’s no lag, no disruption, and no stopping the brute force of this sweet V8.” The eight-speed transmission is also noteworthy, “for dispatching all that grunt with total precision.”
In addition to having an incredible amount of power, the Panamera Turbo also handles extremely well. The automaker’s sports cars, the 911, Cayman, and Boxster are all balanced, which is something that translates to the Panamera Turbo. “What impresses me most about the Panamera Turbo is how Porsche is able to offer this same dynamic in a car that’s so much larger and has its engine up at the front,” says Motor1. Simply put, “This is the best-driving car in its class by a long shot.”
The Panamera Turbo’s interior is also noteworthy. “The Panamera’s interior is fabulous, with nice materials and a great design throughout,” says Motor1. The best part of the interior, though “is the updated Porsche Communication Mangement system, with its angled, flat panel surrounding the gear shifter, and the huge, 12.3-inch touchscreen above that.”
Motor1 also met up with a group of classic 911 owners who curiously ogled the sedan. “But don’t just take my world for it, as the group of classic 911 owners I’m driving with, some of whom are struggling to keep up on the long stretches of back-and-forth S-curves that make up this fantastic portion of California’s Highway 2,” says the outlet. When it was time for a break, “the 911 owners surround the Panamera with curiosity and admiration.”
The Panamera Turbo may be a four-door hatchback, but it’s still oozing with Porsche’s DNA. “Respect from other enthusiasts and a motoring experience that leaves me smiling days after my test drive,” questions Motor1. “That’s Porsche stuff, alright. That’s the new Panamera Turbo.”