At a special event held in German capital Berlin, Porsche unveiled their long-awaited second-generation Panamera sports saloon. This comes after numerous leaks and official teasers, with curiosity heightened over the new car’s improvements over the 7-year generational interval.
Internally, Porsche has opted to call this new Panamera simply as the G2, and now that it is revealed, will contend with other premium saloons such as the BMW 7 Series and Audi A8, but perhaps more so with the sporting members of that grouping such as the Jaguar XJR and Maserati Quattroporte.
Despite looking quite similar to the he outgoing car, the German marque has stressed that this car is truly all-new. But it also rights some of the first Panamera’s criticisms quite well, tweaking the body enough to make an undeniably much better looking car, but at the same time having us reconsidering our reservations against the original car’s exterior.
In particular, the new 2017 Panamera has a rear end that does a much better job at making it look like a four-door 911 while also taking cues from the new Porsche 718 and Macan. The roof is indeed lower, by 20mm, but the silhouette has been kept, albeit having gone through a general sharpening of its design: shorter front and rear overhangs, more pronounced haunches, and deeper creases.
Despite not being noticeable, and as a result of shorter overhangs, the wheelbase has increased to 2,950mm, while its width increase by 6mm and it now measures 34mm longer from tip to tail. Up front there are the LED headlamps with a cluster of four illumination elements and daytime running lights integrated into each side of the front air intakes. Meanwhile, the rear lamps also house four-point illumination on each side, joined by an LED strip.
Porsche has used aluminium more extensively in the new Panamera’s construction while strategically using it for more and more parts and panels depending on the height of the component in order to keep the centre of gravity low. The bonnet, roof and most of the side panels are entirely constructed of the stuff.
Porsche has introduced their new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with adaptive cylinder control, which develops 404kW and 770Nm of torque which will be fitted to the new Panamera Turbo. In addition to that range-topper, Porsche has chosen to highlight the Panamera 4S and Panamera 4S Diesel. All variants will now have the option to be specified with an all-wheel drive system and every engine mated to a 7-speed Porsche PDK automatic.
For the Panamera 4S, it will be powered by a 2.9-litre turbocharged V6 engine that generates 324kW and 550Nm, a modest performane increase over the outgoing 3.6-litre V6 engine.
The Panamera 4S Diesel, however, is a potential performance demon without the thirst of the petrol-powered Turbo. Porsche will be offering an 8-cylinder turbodiesel with 310kW and 850Nm of torque. It’s the most powerful diesel they’ve ever offered and capable of hauling the Panamera to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds.
A new sports car-derived feature coming to the Panamera is rear-axle steering, adapted from what Porsche learned from the 911 Turbo, GT3 RS, and 918 Spyder. Elsewhere the new adaptive air suspension has been improved to work better with Porsche’s Active Suspension Management (PASM) system, Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC), and torque vectoring to achieve agility without compromising comfort.
Porsche has also thoroughly revised the Panamera’s interior and it’s arguably where it differs most obviously from the older car. Much of the buttons that adorned the previous generation’s centre stack is now replaced with 12.3-inch central infotainment touchscreen (with Apple CarPlay support) while below that there are touch operated controls surrounding the gear selector.
Ahead of the driver, the traditional instrument cluster has been replaced by dual 7-inch screens that fill with dynamic information as necessary but, this being a Porsche, an analogue tachometer remains firmly in the between.
Sandwiched among the two rear seats, there is now a touchscreen and separate controls for the rear infotainment and HVAC system. Additionally, the new Panamera can be had with massaging seats, panoramic roof, ambient lighting, and a high-end Burmester 3D sound system.
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