KaliPinckney.com

The latest Porsche to hit the roads is the Panamera!

Styling:

Now, here’s the contentious area. The long sloping nose is as slippery as a fish and it meets the ground so perfectly in the front.  This is especially important because they had to move the Engine up front to keep the peace between (1) space in the rear for storage, (2) space in the rear for seats, and (3) the need for balance front and rear of the vehicle.  This Porsche is pure slippery.  The wind goes over and around it perfectly.  The rear wing is multi-stage and the cars computers determines how fast you are moving and how much downforce you need.  Panamera has fly-by-wire!  Another cool fact is that, unless you are freakishly tall, you can actually lay in the back when the seats are folded down for storage.  How cool is that?

The trim inside is a sight to behold.  Not only are there buttons up front, but there are also nearly the same amount for the rear passengers.  Why you ask?  Because this car is specifically meant for traveling more than 20 miles down the autobahn with your family.  It is meant for the man who has it all and likes to be driven from Italy to his second home in the Monte Carlo.  He sits in the back in the lap of luxury with all the legroom he needs to stretch out and talk to his business manager’s back at the office.

Believe it or not (this is going to shock you!), some people find it ugly!  But lets delve into this a little.  People have thought all Porsche’s were ugly at first.  Seriously!  The first people who saw the 356 said,   “Verdammt! der ein hässliches Auto ist”. But you know what it was a successful design.  The first people who saw a Porsche on American roads said.  What the hell is that?!?!  But you know what.  Porsches have survived because they are well engineered and sometimes style and engineering mesh together in a car that may not be a… Ferrari!  Just remember that this car is going to be better engineered then a Ferrari, despite the fact that it doesn’t have the Italian Passion.  This car… Just as other Porsche designs WILL grow on you because it is a Timeless design.  If you think of a Cayenne and you were like me, you said..  “Damn! that is an Ugly Ass SUV”, or Porsche should NOT make SUV’s but look at it now.  The design stands and will still give you the same impressions of it as long as its made.  I was actually looking to buy a Cayenne.  As long as a Panamera sits in you driveway you love the design (if you loved it when you bought it of course).  The flip side is that you might always hate the design.

Watch this video.  It is from Auto World and is in German.  Look I understand that most of YOU don’t understand German as I do (I took 2 years in High school baby) but just not the (1) profile of the Panamera behind the 911 Turbo, (2) the look of the vehicle while its actually moving, and (3) the way the rear wing opens..  Pure Porsche (happens around 2:04 on video).

power and capability:

The versions are just beastly!  the highest powered version is the 500bhp @ 6000rpm version with 516 lb ft @ 2250rpm torque.   Mate that to All Wheel Drive and one of the most sophisticated stability programs placed on a vehicle and you have a car that’ll kick the shi-take out of more expensive cars with lesser drivers.  Even with the Seven-speed automatic Transmission, it’ll still get better gas average gas mileage than say a Dodge Magnum V-6, AWD.

With all that said:

I would definitely buy one if I had the loot for a $90,000 – $140,000 piece of engineering that has 4 door you can hop in that’ll collect 0-60 in 3.8 seconds or cruise the California Freeways at 188 Miles Per Hour.  And I must say, one of my favorite points I must say.. Porsche finally got away from the numbers and broke out of the “C’s”.  What does that mean? 356, 911, 912, 914, 924, 930, 944, 959 (my personal favorite), and then around the late 80’s they started kicking out all the C cars (although around previous); Cabriolet, Carrera, and it continued to the Cayman, Cayenne.

I’ve been a fan of Porsche since about 1985 when I first saw one.  I love them.. Seriously!  and to be honest, its my only life goal left.  I’ve accomplished all my goals other than that one… And I actually had the chance to close it off and didn’t.. But I will.  I’ll have to win the lotto before I buy a Panamera… Hey Hey Hey, Only because I’m gonna get a 911/996 first.

Since I don’t have the hookups to drive a Panamera right now and it may be awhile before one makes its way here to Hawaii, I’m going to add a video that would address all of the areas I would had I been able to play with one.

Thanks for stopping by Kali Pinckney’s website at kalipinckney.com

Tags: First Impressions, Panamera, Porsche

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 8:09 pm and is filed under F1 and Auto. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.