Time flies when you’re having fun in the form of practicality and performance. That’s the idea behind the Porsche Panamera. It’s been 10 years this month since they debuted their primo luxury sedan and sports-car-for-four all rolled into one.
Porsche had been working on the idea of a 4-door Gran Turismo for quite some time. In fact, they developed a four-seater based on the 356 as far back as the 1950’s. When the Panamera debuted on April 19, 2009 in Shanghai, it was the result of three concepts. The name came from the Mexican endurance race “Carrera Panamericana”.
The first generation Panamera was powered by naturally aspirated V6 and V8 engines capable of producing between 246 and 542 horsepower. In keeping with Porsche’s sporty heritage, there was a six-speed manual, but most customers chose the seven-speed dual clutch PDK. The top model featured air suspension.
Now in its second generation, the Porsche Panamera has become more powerful with 18 models to choose from. Hybrids are part of the mix drawing from the engineering from the 918 Spyder supercar. The second gen Panamera has also seen other enhancements like rear-axle steering, PDCC Sport electromechanical roll stabilisation system, and a digital display.
There were skeptics when the Panamera was first introduced. However, Porsche has proven sports car performance can come with the luxury of grand touring tradition with more than 235,000 cars sold so far.
