Car and Driver runs Porsche Panamera Turbo in The 24 Hours of Dayton
Porsche Panamera Turbo - Click above for high-res image gallery
That's Dayton, as in Ohio. Never heard of that race? We have, but only because we had Car and Driver's head cheese Eddie Alterman on our esteemable podcast the other week and he mentioned it. What is the 24 Hours of Dayton? Let's let C/D explain:
Get it? If you don't, C/D rounded up three editors and decided to run a series of 356-mile laps around Dayton, thereby inventing (and dominating) the first ever 24 hour race. You can also be fairly certain this particular race is also the last ever."A Brumos Porsche won the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona. We couldn't even summon the entry fees for that race, so we invented an event, the 24 Hours of Dayton, in which we were the first entry, the last entry, the only entry."
As far as the Panamera Turbo is concerned, all the racers (fine, drivers) were quite impressed, repeatedly waxing poetic about how the big four-door Porsche kicks the BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the you know where. Hard, too. One editor hit 190 mph – with someone in the backseat! Another noted how 100 mph came up all too frequently when entering a freeway, eliciting at least one middle finger. All three were taken aback by the Panamera's luxurious interior. The numbers they collected – stuff like 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds – are startling, leading C/D to speculate that the turbo'd Panamera might be a wee bit underrated in the power department. Also: assicles. But you're going to have to read the article to figure that one out.
Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Porsche Panamera
All Photos Copyright ©2009 Michael Harley / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Car & Driver]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
dukeisduke 11:15AM (11/11/2009)
Yet it's still ugly.
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UniBroW 12:15PM (11/11/2009)
I actually like it and i would think twice about ownership had I had the money to do so.
adrian 12:42PM (11/11/2009)
For me the look of this car depends on the body colour and it's wheels. The white version makes the car look like a barge. The metalic green version looks acceptable.
ripiopower 12:58PM (11/11/2009)
Im with you man'' I try to like it and it hasn't work yet -- Don't like the interior or the exterior,
Porsche keep building sport ( 2 doors ) cars or SUV please. stay away from the sedans''
ALBGunner04 3:12PM (11/11/2009)
I saw the black one on SPEED: Test Drive. It was a beauty.
mk15 11:16AM (11/11/2009)
I'm starting to warm up to the Panamera. But I was not repulsed by it to start with.
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Carlo_Carrera 11:21AM (11/11/2009)
It's looks might be to everyone's taste but at the dealerships near me they are selling well.
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Chet 11:23AM (11/11/2009)
I don't care how fast it is, it's too ugly.
It's a shame VW has to let this thing live for years to pay for itself before they can take it out back and shoot it.
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zamafir 12:17PM (11/11/2009)
They don't need to, VW wants the platform - they have no intent on rebadging the car. They're not Toyota or GM/Ford. That said, this car is selling well considering the price point. It also looks fine on the road and is a bit of a pain in the rear to keep up with when driven competently.
Shiftright 11:24AM (11/11/2009)
Will you please stop showing photos of the Panamera? Can't you just write about it?
I'm glad it's that stupidly fast. That way when it accelerates away from me at warp speed, it means I will only be exposed to its dumpy ugly ass for a few seconds....
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BoxerFanatic 11:24AM (11/11/2009)
This car could be so much better looking, with just a little bit of refinement.
The Bugatti Galibier concept is an object lesson in how the roofline of the Panamera should look.
The Porsche roofline has high-points above the windsheild, and above the rear hatch. Between the two, the arch of the roofline is flat. The Bugatti has one sweeping curve that is not broken up, and the high-point is not obvious, and it is in the middle.
Porsche would have done better to not turn up the end of the rear quarter glass, either. The 911 line doesn't upsweep. The 928 didn't either. The Cayman does, and would look better if it more resembled a truncated 996/997 shape. The Panamera would look better with a more finite, defined shape of the side glass.
The interior, the drivetrain, and most of the rest of the Panamera is good stuff, probably amazing stuff. It is too bad it isn't clothed in a better tailored suit.
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zamafir 12:18PM (11/11/2009)
^what he said, x2
My_SS_RX8 11:29PM (11/11/2009)
One could assume that Porsche designers did wind tunnel tests, maybe even held occasional meetings to discuss what it was they were trying to achieve. One could also imagine Porsche design engineers took care and had reasons for the final product not apparent to unpaid would be helpers. I'd pay for his one way ticket if boxerfrantic would fly to Stuttgart and demonstrate in person to a meeting of Porsche engineers and marketing how and why they got it all wrong and show them his improvements. I'd pay for his return if Porsche agreed and made his recommended changes. Of course I'm talking coach tickets. I do hope one day "sonny" will be able to afford his dream car. Stay in school study hard and one day you too will achieve the privilege of being critiqued by the untrained.
BoxerFanatic 10:08AM (11/12/2009)
Sorry if someone spiked your corn flakes this morning, there, SS.
I wasn't challenging their technology, or their testing, nor was I saying that their engineering was faulty. I was evaluating the aesthetics, and by the commonly held opinion, not a lot of people like the aesthetics.
I cited an example of another large 5-door sedan shape that has the aesthetics more appealingly executed, to establish that it can, in fact, be done.
I am a huge fan of Porsche cars. If I were to let that over-rule my aesthetic sense, and not offer critiques, and only offer praise, then I would be labeled by you and others as a fanboi.
If I do make a reasoned critique, I am considered an amateur by you, who does not know me.
And on that point, I was not aware that someone needed to be a design cheif at an auto manufacturer to be able to evaluate a product on the market. I was under the impression that people are free to have their own opinions.
If Porsche wants to take my suggestions, and clean up the roofline, I think the car would receive better public opinion, and perhaps even have better laminar flow characteristics, as well, having more gradual and graceful curvature to the roofline. They can take my suggestions on the Cayman, as well, if they like. But I am not forcing anyone to do anything.
Maybe if you have experience, or are an automotive designer, you can learn to take constructive criticism, evaluate it's merit or lack of it, and learn to make more aesthetically pleasing automobile. Good grief, there are enough ugly ones out there that could stand some improvement, you might be able to make a good living being able to translate good ideas into actual parts, something I wish I could do with my ideas.
Try being thankful for your skills, instead of being condescending to people with other ideas, it might help you, and give you input.
My_SS_RX8 11:10AM (11/12/2009)
did you ever get your price on the tires you had for sale?
BoxerFanatic 11:35AM (11/12/2009)
I hope you are referring to someone else. I haven't had tires for sale in quite some time.
Art 11:38AM (11/11/2009)
three...point four? THREE POINT FOUR? holy shit
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zamafir 12:20PM (11/11/2009)
well... 3.4 in C&D numbers, aka numbers you'll see no one else attain... which would be around 4 flat in most 'rags, which is no less impressive.
zamafir 1:20PM (11/11/2009)
W. T. F.
Evo got 3.6
Looking forward to watching this school and LF-A... well or damn near anything with four wheels. No wonder the new turbo's so fast, it needs to be to remain relevant.
montoym 2:05PM (11/11/2009)
It's got a DCT, AWD and launch control. I'm pretty sure attaining those acceleration figures is much easier (and more repeatable) than in most other cars without those same attributes.