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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Sep
9
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
A few years ago, somebody in the product strategy planning department at Porsche HQ in Germany, decided that a five door hatchback would be the next car that people would buy from them. Can you imagine the raised eyebrows from senior management when the proposal was put to them? It then had to go to design for them to produce a full scale model, then on to engineering who would have to put the engine at the front, then onto assembly who would have to build it and finally the idea would go to marketing who would have to sell it.
 I first saw photographs of the Panamera a few months ago and like so many people, I was just not impressed by its styling, so on the way down to Silverstone, I was still wondering what it would be like seeing it in the flesh.Like so many cars we see, the pictures just do not do it any justice whatsoever. It is every bit a Porsche, with its front wings higher than the bonnet and a wide rear end; it just looks brilliant.
 The interior oozes quality, and there’s an almost endless choice of colours and materials. The two rear seats are exactly the same as the front ones and the space in the rear is cavernous, with plenty of head and leg room and with it only having the two individually sculptured seats, there is more than enough shoulder room. The front seating position is exactly the same as the 911 in terms of height, distance from the windscreen, distance from the steering wheel and the viewpoint to the front of the bonnet. The interior really is a very special place to sit.
 The Panamera is powered by a 4.8 litre V8 petrol engine that produces 400hp. This may not sound like a lot of power for an engine of that size, but it’s still more than enough to make the Panamera perform as you’d want a Porsche to. It goes from 0-62mph in a staggeringly quick 4.0 seconds, but at 124mph, it is just ‘ticking over’ at 2,800rpm. There will be three models available at launch: the S, which costs £72,266 and is only available with a manual gearbox, the 4S at £77,269, which has a PDK 7 speed double clutch semi-automatic gearbox and the Turbo, which costs £95,298 and has 4WD, an additional 100 bhp and the Porsche launch control as standard. I have never had the pleasure of using launch control before so I didn’t really know what to expect. The Silverstone instructor told me to put my left foot firmly on the footbrake, press the accelerator as far down as possible and when I was ready, release the footbrake. I wasn’t expecting what happened next! The car set off like a rocket in a dead straight line and I felt as though my brain had popped out through the back of my head, landing somewhere on the back seat. The feeling was quite scary but a tremendous feeling at the same time; despite the unexpected power, it did feel completely safe. When thinking about this car’s abilities, you have to bear in mind that this is a four seater saloon that could easily be used as a chauffeur driven car, as well as being a treat to the enthusiast.
 We then took the cars onto the skid pan to try the handling on some very slippery surfaces. The instructor turned on all the car’s systems and we hit the icy surfaces at up to 50mph. When you hit the brakes, it just brought the car to a safe halt without any drama; it just stopped in a straight line. He then turned the systems off and at the same speed, I managed to spin it four times. All this was done in a very safe environment and it just proved how good the Panamera’s systems actually are; the adaptive air suspension and dynamic chassis control worked very well together. Porsche are also trying to do their bit for the environment so they have introduced start/stop on the 4S model. It is one of the first cars in the world to get this system with automatic transmission. When you come to a halt, either at traffic lights, a road junction or a roundabout, the engine stops and as soon as you start to release the brake, the engine fires up in a split second and off you go; effortlessly and quietly.
 The Porsche Panamera is not just a good looking car with endless amounts of power, it is also a practical car that is comfortable and handles perfectly. With the rear seats up there is 445 litres of space, which will accommodate four large suitcases. With the seats folded down, you get a huge cargo area with 1250 litres of space. The Panamera measures 4,970mm in length, so it has many competitors in this segment. These include the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S Class and Lexus 460h. It is also up against some performance saloon cars such as the BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz S Class AMG and Audi RS6. However, due to the Panamera’s large luggage capacity, then there would have to be some estate model competitors also. Is the Panamera a large saloon or a large sports car? It is a tough one to put a name to.
 Porsche expect to sell around 20,000 models worldwide next year with 33% going to North America, 33% to Europe and the other third to the rest of the world. There will be a smaller petrol engine launched in the near future and Porsche has confirmed that there will be a hybrid version at some stage. Porsche has not confirmed a diesel powered version yet but with the success of the Cayenne, then it will only be a matter of time before they introduce it.
So the person in product strategy was not as mad as everyone thought at the time. The Panamera may have seemed like a ridiculous car that went against everything that Porsche stand for. However, I have to say, it is one of the finest cars that I have ever driven and those that will be lucky enough to own one must thank that person in product strategy, the design team and all those thousands of engineers who have made it possible. It is a remarkable car at a very sensible price.
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