Porsche Panamera will offer three models

Porsche will debut its Panamera Gran Turismo to the North American public during the Monterey Peninsula’s Classic Car Week, August 9-16 with three models.

The debut will include presentations at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering at Quail Lodge; The 36th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The Panamera has been eagerly awaited since Porsche announced it would build the brand’s first four-door sports car.

Porsche’s four-seater was conceived and designed as a grand touring car, combining numerous talents in typical Porsche style: sporting driving dynamics, a spacious interior, and the supreme comfort of a gran turismo.

The Panamera will go on sale at Porsche’s 202 U.S. dealers on Oct. 17, 2009 and will offer three models:

1. Panamera S, 400 hp, 0-60 mph 5.2 secs, 175 mph top speed, $89,800 USD
   
2. Panamera 4S, 400 hp, 0-60 mph 4.8 secs, 175 mph top speed, $93,800 USD
   
3. Panamera Turbo, 0-60 mph 4.0 secs, 188 mph top speed, $132,600 USD
   

To celebrate the arrival of the Panamera Porsche has joined numerous prestigious brands in sponsoring the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

While the Quail Lodge will be the backdrop of a Porsche Experience Center where VIP test drives will be conducted throughout the week, Pebble Beach has, for the first time, introduced a Porsche category.

The Panamera celebration also involves the 36th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races where Porsche is the featured marque this year.

A New 4-Cylinder 911?

Porsche is ready to introduce four-cylinders into its vehicles – perhaps even the 911- if demand for greener products continues to grow.

Thomas Krickelberg, a powertrain engineer for the company, dropped the hint at the Australian introduction of the new 2009 Porsche 911 lineup. The 3.6 and 3.8-liter flat-sixes, he said, were redesigned with four-cylinder adaptation in mind. Should Porsche decide smaller engines are necessary, it will not need to invest much in time or engineering to produce them.

Porsche has a history of using four-cylinder engines, most notably in its iconic 356 and later its 924 models, but never in the 911(????). The company has more recently focused on going bigger, namely with Cayenne SUV and the upcoming Panamera sedan. But rising social and political calls for fuel efficiency seem to be influencing a change in direction.

Of course this raises the question: would a four-cylinder engine in a Porsche 911 or even a Boxster be sacrilege? Or is this merely the next logical step for a brand that has considerably expanded its lineup in recent years? Let us know what you think.

Source: www.drive.com.au