First Drive 2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo: Engineering Tour de Force

Early adopters will revel in the acceleration, handling and luxury of the everything-new Panamera Turbo, but they should lease because the second-generation Panamera’s product plan promises steady evolution of performance and design, something the first-gen car lacked toward the end. Panamera’s new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 has seven or eight years of development potential. (For a techie deep dive, follow the link to this story from July, derived from a long day spent with the engineers who created the car.) Panamera and its various systems will serve as a fountainhead for many other luxury-performance cars out of the VW Group of brands, and could kick start new and compelling collaborations between the brands. At the very least, evolved elements of Panamera will serve in Bentleys and Audis. Right out of the barn, the 550 horsepower twin-turbo engine is only 20 horsepower shy of the nothing-left-to-gain 4.8-liter V8 of the outgoing Turbo S, indication of a delicious future. Because there’s virtually no turbo lag, just like in the new Carrera bi-turbo and 718 Boxster S, the 2017 V8 punches harder than the old engine, with 568 lb-ft of torque available from 1960 to 4500 rpm, followed by a smooth hand-off to the final shout of horsepower up to 6000 revs. That’s 15 lb-ft more than the old Turbo S engine even before sustaining development begins. In short, at no point above 2000 rpm does the car lack thrust. Spearing over ideal mountain roads for 90 minutes, Panamera Turbo proved more chuckable than any 4300-lb. car has a right to be, the triumph of all-wheel drive and what Porsche has dubbed 4D Chassis Control, a super-brain integrating the actions of multiple electro-mechanical suspension elements as well as power delivery. For those who must have the ultimate, a Turbo S should arrive soon, answering the Alfa Giulia’s challenge. Cousin of the Maserati Ghibli, Giulia has surpassed the luxury four-door lap record at the Nürburgring recently posted by Panamera Turbo. Turbo S will no doubt be waking up barnyard animals throughout the Eifel Mountains in the near future, putting the Italians back down. Who doesn’t love a rivalry? Makes me want to sample a Giulia. And it sparks a few thoughts about exactly what a Turbo S might be. ABOVE: Paris Auto Show 2012, Panamera Sport Turismo presented by then President and CEO, Matthias Mueller. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) Next , a production version of the Panamera Sport Turismo concept car of 2012 will arrive in the 2018 model year most likely. Sport Turismo replaced the turtleback of the first-gen Panamera with a crisp sportwagen roofline. Sport Turismo will augment the already greater and more squared-up cargo space of the new Panamera. Porsche offers child seats to fit the heavily bolstered rear buckets, but a few mainstream seats fit, too. If the final result is as handsome as the concept vehicle and maintains the gorgeous and very deep rear haunches, a Sport Turismo Turbo S gets the nod as world’s fastest Daddywagen. Read more http://www.forbes.com/sites/markewing/2016/09/14/first-drive-2017-porsche-panamera-turbo-engineering-tour-de-force/2/#4b39167d649c