It's Official: Check Out The 550hp 2017 Porsche Panamera
Porsche has shrugged the silk off of the new 2017 Panamera, its redesigned four-door that promises lashings of performance for those who need more space than a 911. Revamped with styling borrowed from the 2017 Porsche 911 – which we drove earlier this month – along with the latest Cayman and 718 Boxster, the new Panamera gets a swooping, coupe-esque roofline but still has room inside for four.
The biggest changes are at the sides – where a new shape to the glass helps give the 2017 Panamera its stretched two-door profile – and at the rear, where the somewhat fussy trunk has been fettled into a far smoother, crisper affair with a striking horizontal light bar.
Under the hood, meanwhile, there'll be a choice of three twin-turbo engines. The Panamera Turbo will be the most powerful, a 4.0-liter V8 with 550 HP, followed by the Panamera 4S, with 440 HP from its 2.9-liter V6. Finally, there'll be a Panamera 4S Diesel with 422 HP.
All three will get all-wheel drive as standard, along with a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission (PDK II). That's not only swifter but more efficient, with Porsche claiming the new cars are up to 16-percent more frugal with their fuel.
The Panamera Turbo will do 0-62 mph in 3.8 seconds – though the Sport Chrono Package will cut that to 3.6 seconds – and then keep pulling all the way to 190 mph. As for the Panamera 4S, that'll take 4.4 seconds to get to 62 mph – shave 0.2 seconds off with the Sport Chrono Package – and on to a top speed of 180 mph.
A new three-chamber air suspension system promises smoother driving, while rear-axle steering is also on offer. There's a new, electronic 4D Chassis Control management system, too, along with a variety of driver aids and safety tech.
Inside, the dashboard gets a revamp, borrowing from smartphone interfaces with various configurable displays including two 7-inch LCDs flanking an analog tachometer for the driver. The new Porsche Communication Management (PCM 4.1) system gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen in the center console, and hooks into various cloud services, allowing for things like remote control via smartphone of select vehicle functions.
Many of the physical controls have gone touch-sensitive, like the center vent louvers and many of the settings in the center stack.
There's no denying that the Panamera is a big deal for Porsche. While the company may be known best for its long-lived 911, it's cars like the four-door sedan and its SUVs that have proved more triumphant in sales and helped move the marque out of the loyal-but-small purist segment.
In fact, Porsche has sold over 150,000 Panameras since launching the car – to no small amount of controversy among its fans – in 2009.
Preorders of the 2017 Porsche Panamera begin now, with the first deliveries expected to appear on dealer forecourts in November 2016. US pricing kicks off at $99,900 for the Panamera 4S, and $146,900 for the Panamera Turbo; don't hold your breath for the diesel, however.
We'll have much more information – and live shots – of the new Panamera very soon, so stay tuned!
