550isport

Not to be a know-it-all, but I suspected that the Panamera might befall the same fate as the Cayenne. And the first drives seem to be confirming my suspicions. I love Porsche for its sports cars. The 911 offers a unique experience in that it is very light and has its engine over the rear axle, a trait which Porsche has near perfected through persistent engineering over the last 4 decades. None of these qualities apply to the Cayenne or Panamera. Those expecting Porsche to work magic with these two cars are right to be frustrated. The GTS is a brilliant ride, but apples to apples, a Cayenne S is no better than an X5. Its not that the Cayennes are bad, they're just not exceptionally good. And I think the same thing is about to happen with the Panamera. I thought for sure the Panamera would outsmart the M5 in its design and execution and offer a solution that was sportier than the M but as comfortable. It seems the opposite is true. The S and 4S panameras are reportedly not that fast (like the Cayenne S), and particularly comfortable perhaps at the expense of some road feel.

But all is not lost! If all goes to plan, the same whordes of buyers will line up to buy, not the car, but the brand. A local private porsche repair shop owner explained it best to me: he said - I have customers that just love their 911s but they can't drive them everyday because of practical limitations so they go out and get a Cayenne for themselves or their significant others. Its the 911 for the weekdays. - In other words they're just staying brand loyal. And I get that. And I think much of panamera sales will fall in that same category - purchases made out of brand loyalty irrespective of the car's performance relative to its competitors. And as with the Cayenne, the turbo's acceleration numbers will save the car from a lambbasting in the magazines and in the minds of car guys across the country. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Take the hp away and what do you have? I always found it telling how much people rave about 5 series with the smaller engines.

Anyway. Porsche will line its pockets with profits from the Panamera as it has done with the overpriced Cayenne and use its coffers to continue to develop the 911. Every cloud has a silver lining

My2C
DRP

Richard in NC

Here is a possibility. If most of the Cayenne sales are loyalty sales, than those same people will now buy Panameras instead, cutting Cayenne sales in half. Bottom line, total Porsche sales may not go up by much.

swajames

Take a look at these reviews:

Motor Trend

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans...view/index.html

"The Panamera is a truly epic automobile"


Autoblog

The author of the Autoblog review actually posts on Bimmerfest (his username is Emission).

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/25/first-d...78-years-in-th/

"We believe that time will once again vindicate Porsche's latest decision to hurl itself into the competitive luxury sport sedan segment. Our three days with the Panamera left little doubt that Porsche has achieved its program objectives in its first-round attempt. Not only is it painstakingly engineered and truly enjoyable to drive... most importantly, the all-new Panamera has earned the right to wear the Porsche badge."

"Unlike the BMW M5, Audi S6, and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG -- all competent family sedans gussied-up to masquerade as sport sedans -- the Porsche Panamera is built with the sole objective of being the only clean-sheet high performance sport sedan in the segment. Even the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG, arguably one of the Panamera's closest competitors, pales in performance."


From one of his posts on Bimmerfest - "Try to find one negative review of the Panamera by someone who has actually DRIVEN one. The car may be ugly and expensive, but it kicks ass.)"


LA Times

Here's Dan Neil from the LA Times' review. Dan remains the only auto journalist who has won the Pulitzer Prize.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neil...,1017349.column

"The new Porsche Panamera is the best-handling big sedan in the world", although Dan Neil is a 911 guy and can't resist making the comparisons when he goes on to say "The damned car is magnificent." before adding "But it is not made of the same charmed isotopes as the 911, and therefore not a Porsche. Sorry."

m630

Interesting comments, I've also read a bunch and the car does sound interesting, though it is butt ugly for no reason at all....but its also BS that the car is a clean sheet sedan made strictly for pure performance; it was stated that they will also offer the car as a 6 cyl using a VW engine? or something like that from what I had read in the past, so if thats still the case, its just a porschephile overlooking facts to make their point...Im sure it will be a very good sports saloon, but I just dont see the need to dis on the King M5 which is the Ultimate Sports Saloon (sorry no masquerading with the E60) regardless of the P-car marketing machines states, once it beats the next gen head to head, then perhaps they can talk, but for now, its still up in the air as to whether this thing will survive long term, and it definitely needs a rework of the sheetmetal, just look at how beautiful AM did it, this thing has nothing on the Rapide in terms of looks

swajames

Time will tell who's right. My money is on Porsche. For now, one thing is clear. A Panamera Turbo is quicker, by a significant margin, than any class competitor (from BMW or otherwise) and it appears to have a handling advantage over its competitors. As for form following function, it's reportedly true.

DRANGED

Kool-aid drinker.

swajames

m630

definitely time will tell...I do think it looks good from the front and the interior looks very nice, but the functionality of the form and its real necessity is still tbd......I still think someone who really needs seating for 4 adults regularly would choose a 760li or S600 type vehicle over this....this is trying to out do the M5 and attract its clientele as far as I can figure, as no one in the mind set (or tax bracket) for a Rapide or Flying Spur would really consider this, imho...

pipper

i have no doubt that the car will drive great...but why does it have to be so darn ugly???

sdg1871

The Panamera should be a blast to drive. Porsche reall knows how to make a car that is ultra-fast and that handles. I wish that the car looked better than it does. That being said, the F10, at least in spy shots, is no beauty.