The car will now take the stage April 19, the day before the Shanghai show officially gets underway. The decision for the shift from Geneva to Shanghai was due to the increased importance in the Chinese market, in addition to rapidly growing neighbors such as India and Russia. The cars revealed at the show will include the normally aspirated V8 and twin-turbocharged V8 variants.
The Stuttgart sports carmaker sold 8,190 vehicles in China last financial year, and this was more than double the number of sales it made the previous year. At the same time, sales in established markets, such as Germany, dropped by more than 5% over the same period.
Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking says he is hoping for "new market opportunities" and a "stronger presence" in regions like China and the Middle East.
The company has set a firm production rate of 20,000 cars per year, but if demand drops the rate will be reduced. "In no case will we produce too many," Wiedeking explained. "In that case, I would intervene myself."
All engines available in the Panamera will be six or eight-cylinder direct-injected V-engines, and only the top model will be available with a super-light AWD system. All models will be available with PTM, Porsche Traction Management, and a unique new high-volume adjustable air suspension will also be available, offering a wide range of performance options including a Sport Plus mode that lowers the car even further, stiffens effective spring rates and lowering the center of gravity. The standard steel suspension is also available on all models.
The Panamera will go on sale following a media test-drive in Germany scheduled for June, around what Porsche terms "late summer". Base prices in Europe are expected to start at €80,000 ($100,000) for the V6 RWD model and go up to €125,000 ($156,000) for the Turbo AWD variant. Prices in the U.S. tend to be lower than they are in Europe. Further details on the engines, transmissions, performance, prices and equipment will be disclosed closer to the car’s launch.
Reader Comments
Mon Jan 5 2009 9:45 AM
The Mii says
i cant like this car solely for the back of it..
Mon Jan 5 2009 10:43 AM
Roy says
Great - then I'll have yours, which I guess will make it miine. Fascinating though your personal preferences are, I think it's more interesting to contemplate what this means for the four door coupe sector in general. The Japanese and US manufacturers haven't really got in on this act, but as far as I can tell, Audi, BMW and Ferrari are the only high-end European manufacturers that do not have four door coupes. BMW has the X6, which I guess will have to do. Ferrari has said it's not interested, which really just leaves Audi. Since VW, Lamborghini and Bentley all do a 4-door coupe, how long before Audi does a sporty A8 with 4 doors? I guess they'll probably call it the S9 or something... Of course, once it takes over VW's operations, Porsche will probably kill the development of anything like that to avoid internal competition.
Mon Jan 5 2009 2:30 PM
NaBUru38 says
"The decision for the shift from Geneva to Shanghai was due to the increased importance in the Chinese market, in addition to rapidly growing neighbors such as India and Russia."
Actually, I'm sure that most of the luxury car sales in Russia belong to the western region, thus very far from China and Russia.
Yesterday, 4:38 AM
azlan says
i could never buy this car, if it were given to me i would surely drive it and love it but i would never spend money to get this there is soo many better options, to be honest id get a cls over one of these.
Yesterday, 11:53 AM
CarFanaticsUnleashed says
One would think they would unveil it on home territory, or home contitent, but hey, at least it's actually being unveiled this time...
Yesterday, 1:54 PM
NoNameDenton says
The front is not as bad as I thought, but need to work on the rear.
Yesterday, 1:58 PM
justinhk2000 says
As Jeremy Clarkson said, Porsche dosen't know how to redesign cars. Sure, make a 4 door sedan that looks like the original, but don't make it look like a stretched 911.
CarFanatics Unlieashed, Porsche dosen't do so well in its homecountry, China is a booming country that is gaining massive amounts of wealth even with these tough times, so idealy, rich people will flock to buy a porsche.
Yesterday, 1:58 PM
justinhk2000 says
As Jeremy Clarkson said, Porsche dosen't know how to redesign cars. Sure, make a 4 door sedan that looks like the original, but don't make it look like a stretched 911.
CarFanatics Unlieashed, Porsche dosen't do so well in its homecountry, China is a booming country that is gaining massive amounts of wealth even with these tough times, so idealy, rich people will flock to buy a porsche.
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