By Derryn Wong

LOCAL PORSCHE DEALERS Stuttgart Auto can boast of being the first in the region to begin retail sales of Porsche’s very first four-door sedan, the Panamera.

Along with Porsche Asia Pacific, Stuttgart announced the launch of the car at a press conference, followed by a customer launch at Capella, Sentosa on September 18.

Three variants were announced: the Panamera S, 4S and Turbo – the same models as available in overseas markets.

A base model with a V6 engine, along with a hybrid, is expected in a year’s time.

Porsche says that the Panamera is aimed at a cross-section of buyers and not any one-market sector. Although obvious rivals will include other luxury sporting sedans such as the Maserati Quattroporte, other types of cars such as gran turismo coupes like the BMW 6 Series or four-door coupes like Mercedes-Benz’ CLS also come into the picture.

An overall length of 4,970mm and wheelbase of 2,920mm make it bigger than a CLS but shorter than a BMW 7 Series or Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

All three Panamera variants feature the new 4.8-litre, 32-valve V8 engine, which comes with direct injection technology, making 400bhp. The Turbo features twin-turbocharging and a 500bhp output.

Interesting features of the car include an engine start-stop function for improved fuel efficiency, steel suspension with active dampers and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) along with an active rear spoiler.

Stand out options are a new adaptive air-suspension, which can vary the air volume of each damper individually, and the Sport Chrono Package with Launch Control, which reduces 0-100km/h time by 0.2 seconds on all PDK models.

Porsche expects to sell 20,000 Panameras annually around the world and 400-500 in the region.

“We’re launching top-down, so we will see most of the volume for the car when the V6 models arrive as most markets, including Singapore, go primarily for V6 variants,” said Mr Christer Ekberg, managing director of Porsche Asia Pacific.

Porsche Panamera S
Engine Type: 4.8-litre, 32V, V8
Power: 400bhp
Gearbox: 7-speed PDK dual-clutch or 6-speed manual
0-100km/h: 5.4 seconds
Top Speed: 283km/h

Panamera 4S
Engine Type: 3.5-litre, 32V, V8
Power: 400bhp
Gearbox: 7-speed PDK dual-clutch
0-100km/h 5.0 seconds
Top Speed: 282km/h

Panamera Turbo
Engine Type: 4.8-litre, 32V, twin-turbocharged V8
Power: 500bhp
Gearbox: 7-speed PDK dual-clutch
0-100km/h 4.2 seconds
Top Speed: 303km/h