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Premium
A Porsche designed to take on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Jaguar XJ might sound preposterous, but the people at Stuttgart seem to think it's a great idea. Until a V6 model arrives in 2010, the S represents entry level into the Panamera range. Powered by a 4.8-litre V8 developing 400bhp, two- or four-wheel drive versions are offered, the purer driving car being the rear-wheel drive Panamera S.
In the Metal
You can't argue with Porsche's consistency, as it sticks to its 'stretch the 911 design to any shape possible' philosophy. The result is mixed at best and downright uncomfortable in many respects. Certainly the Panamera needs to have its colour chosen carefully, darker metallic hues seeming to work well with its hump-backed proportions. Catch it from some angles and it's beguiling, but others will leave you wincing. Beauty is in the eye and all that and odd looks never stopped the Cayenne selling - in fact the ungainly SUV seems to have grown into itself since its facelift.
Until that happens with the Panamera, discussions about the styling will be left open. However, we can't help thinking that the introduction of the Panamera opened up Porsche to a completely unfamiliar marketplace, so it represented an opportunity to introduce a new design signature. Things are better inside; it's like a concept car, the cool individual seats separated by a high transmission tunnel, which features buttons that wouldn't look out of place on a high-end audio system. But then it should really, as the Panamera isn't cheap.
What you get for your Money
The Panamera S represents the sweetest driving package of the current model line-up. In standard guise it comes with a six-speed manual transmission, which although the better choice in terms of driving enjoyment, will undoubtedly be ignored when virtually all owners tick the box for PDK. That's a shame, as the manual Panamera is a tempting proposition; even so, it's likely that Bugatti will sell more Veyrons in the UK next year than Porsche will manual Panameras.
Full Story: The Car Enthusiast - | First Drive | Elmau, Germany | Porsche Panamera S |
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