9ff decided a while a go that it didn’t need to have its hands on a Porsche Panamera to start customizing it. Even without an official debut of the car, plans seem to be moving forward to tune the Porsche’s sedan.
According to a Russian website called Cardesign, tuner 9ff is teaming up with Top Car and Cardi to modify the Porsche Panamera. The chain seems to start with Top Car designing two kits: one that replaces all the body panels except for the roof and a tamer package that just adds new front and rear bumpers, side skirts and a revised hood. Cardi will be responsible for the manufacturing and possible installation of the panels. 9ff will do what it does best and work on the engine, transmission and suspension.
There are no specifics about the performance upgrades to the car, but not surprising considering the Panamera has not yet even been seen in the flesh yet. What can be expected is that it will be a quick machine considering the other Porsches 9ff has gotten its hands on.
Porsche purists will have an extra month to keep their heads high now that the German company is delaying the debut of its first sedan, the Panamera. When the first official information and photos began trickling out of Stuttgart last week, everything pointed to an official unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Now Porsche has changed the month and continent, with the premiere at Shanghai Auto Show in April.
Unlike the financial woes that have delayed cars from U.S. automakers, Porsche says the switch reflects the growing importance of China, India and Russia in its global sales strategy. Porsche sold 8,190 vehicles in China in fiscal 2007-2008, more than twice as many as in the previous year. Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking says he is hoping for "new market opportunities" and a "stronger presence" in regions like China and the Middle East.
Luxury carmakers like Porsche are definitely not immune to the global economic slowdown. This unveiling reflects Porsche’s strategy to use emerging markets to keep the Panamera on track to sell 20,000 units annually. Porsche isn’t even completely sure this target can be met. "In no case will we produce too many," Wiedeking said. Suggesting that current economic conditions may warrant cutting production.
Porsche revealed today new images of its first sedan, the Panamera. Although the car won’t be seen in the flesh until January’s Detroit Auto Show, from these photos it seems Porsche is pushing the roominess of the car more than the performance. We’ll have a chance to see how well this car handles the corners while carrying a full suitcase when the car hits the showrooms by the end of 2009.
Panamera will be offered in two trims: 4S and Turbo, and unlike the 911 and Boxster/Cayman, the Panamera will not have a boxer engine. Instead the lineup will take its cues from the Cayenne and have engines in the more traditional V6 and V8 arrangements. Power will range from 300 to 500 bhp depending on trim level and will be mated to either a manual six-speed gearbox or seven-speed Double-Clutch Gearbox (PDK).
Porsche Panamera - new image gallery
I’m a Porsche purist. I think only true Porsches are supposed to have a huge rear weight bias that causes an almost dangerous amount oversteer. It should take a skilled hand to drive one and carry maximum of two people in relative comfort. Because of these convictions, I’ve been unjustly harsh to the Panamera in the past.
Porsche has a tradition of building magnificently engineered sports cars. So when I see resources taken away from cars like the 911 to build a sedan, I get a little scared. I know the 911 will still get all the attention it needs, but in the back of my mind, I fear Porsche will want to spend time with its new kid and forget about the oldest son still living at home.
Now that we’ve seen leaked final photos of Porsche’s sedan, I’m slightly less worried. Where BMW has the tradition of building cars that are wolves in sheep’s clothing, Porsche has a tradition of making wolves in wolf’s clothing. Although this car carries a similar hoodline to the Nissan 370Z and the body takes the shape of a Citroen C6, the car is distinctly Porsche.
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It seems that some people got a little trigger-happy and released the pics and info about the Porsche Panamera before the Monday’s press embargo expired. That just means some early fun and speculation for us about Porsche’s first sedan.
The car sits on a 9.6 foot long wheelbase, and the total dimensions should be 16.3 feet long, 6.3 feet wide and 4.6 feet tall. The sedan should have optional PDK dual-clutch transmission as well as all-wheel drive. Although engine specifications have not yet been confirmed, what we do know is the front-engine Panamera will likely start out with a power range of about 300 to 500 hp through a range of V6 and V8 engines. A hybrid powertrain and diesel version may also be in the works.
The car will be seen in the flesh in January at the Detroit Auto Show. We will have plenty of updates until then, but for now enjoy some closure from all the speculation and renderings (AutoBild got it pretty close) with some official pics.
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Autobild seems to have one of the more optimistic renderings of the upcoming Porsche Panamera. Renderings like this one gives us hope that Porsche isn’t cribbing designs from Citroen.
So will the sedan be the ultimate insult to the 911, or just a goofy younger brother? We’ll have to wait until the summer to see. What we do know is the front-engine, rear-drive Panamera will likely start out with a power range of about 300 to 500 hp through a range of V6 and V8 engines. A hybrid powertrain and diesel version may also be in the works.
These are the first spy shots images of the Panamera’s interior. It looks like Porsche has mixed the instruments from the 911, the high center console of the Carrera GT, and the buttons aplenty approach of the Cayenne. We’ll see how the full interior looks when the car makes its official debut at the 2009 Geneva show.
The front-engine, rear-drive Panamera will likely start out with a power range of about 300 to 500 hp through a range of V6 and V8 engines. With an expected starting price of about $127,000, it the Panamera may become a less expensive alternative to the Aston Martin Rapide and Lamborghini Estoque.
It’s tough to get behind the the Porsche Panamera. Getting over the sports car maker’s sin of the Cayenne was hard enough, and the Panamera spy shots sometimes look like someone put the designs for all of the Porsche products in a blender and set it on puree. But the car is coming, so its time to make room in your heart for the Aston Martin Rapide and Lamborghini Estoque fighter from Stuttgart.
The front-engine, rear-drive Panamera will likely start out with a power range of about 300 to 500 hp through a range of V6 and V8 engines. A hybrid powertrain is also being developed with Volkswagen. But what really is making news is that Porsche may consider also offering a diesel engine (gulp) to round out the lineup.
The other big news is that part of the Panamera’s design may incorporate a tara roof — maybe on the two-door GT model. So a Porsche with a diesel engine (blasphemy) and a targa top (history), this car should come with antacid.
As I looked at some spy shots that Autoblog picked up of the Porsche Panamera, I realized why I can’t think of this car as a real Porsche. It’s because it isn’t a real Porsche; It’s a Citroen.
Although Porsche is known for original designs, when it wanted to mix the look of 911 and Cayenne into a long wheel-based sedan, I think it made a Citroen C6 with a little bit of the CX in the mix. Everything we’ve seen so far shows the Panamera sedan as long car with a sloping back, which is the hallmark of the big Citroen sedan.
But hey, if it the CX was good enough for French heads of state, then the Panamera should make the common man feel regal.
Maybe the coupe version will look better. Maybe the camouflage is masking a surprise car. Maybe I need to accept the fact that Porsche is a company out for profits, so (like Lamborghini and the Estoque) it will trade on its sports car image to sell sedans. Maybe I need to get my head examined.
Is true Panamera has not been launched yet, but in a tuner imagination the 2010 Panamera will look like this. After the first official teaser, we have to admit, Panamera will look better than everyone imagined.
So, until 20 October when we’ll have the next highlights on the Panamera GT take a look at the 9ff’s work and tell us how do you think the luxury sedan will look like.
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