13-May-2009 11:04:10
Spyderidol:
I love that Ruby Red, but today I'm very upset over the rumors of the "merger".
Not sure about the "merger", Piech wants to sell and he has a LOT of influence inside the Porsche family. He indirectly "attacked" Dr. Wiedeking today and emphasized that Porsche needs to solve their current financial problems without the help from Volkswagen.
Piech seems to be very clever: he talks merger but he means sell-out. How can a merger work if Volkswagen doesn't "help" Porsche with the financial issues?!
To be honest: I trust Mr. Wiedeking more than Mr. Piech but Piech has a lot of power (now even more than ever), he has Volkswagen and especially Mr. Winterkorn behind him and I bet that a lot o german politicians and union bosses also favor a "small" Porsche with very little influence from Mr. Wiedeking and the Porsche family.
It is sad but the financial "games" Porsche played in the past actually finally broke their neck. If the world economy wouldn't have gone down the drain, Porsche would own Volkswagen by now. I guess nobody at Volkswagen forgot this and this seems to backfire now.
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, Cayenne Turbo S, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
13-May-2009 11:18:54
Yes, I'm clinging desperately on the knowledge that things tend to "evolve" and different scenarios can (and usually do) emerge.
Although I'm not a WW fan (I cant get my head around how a CEO of a sportscar company as prestigious as Porsche does not like Motorsport), I am of the opinion that if Porsche gets swallowed up by VW, it will play second fiddle to Audi.
I'm afraid that if this happens, the days of a "proper" motorsport program for Porsche will be over. (and this will reflect on their road cars).
WW was'nt good for the Motorsport aspirations of the Porsche fan; Piech and VW will be catastrofic!
13-May-2009 11:51:10
Who wants to bet that the next gen Panamera has a completely different "butt"?
I can even imagine that the first facelift will enhance the rear in a way or another.
It is always the same with Porsche: when they introduce a completely new model or if they do a major overhaul, some things are always not right. Then, it takes them 2-3 years to correct the error(s) they made, the first 996/Boxster is the best example for this unwritten rule, the first Cayenne another one.
This is actually very sad because first buyers are always those who "pay" for it in the end.
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, Cayenne Turbo S, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
EricAlain:
Do you think Panamera's nick name will be ugly butty ....
By the way, I thought Panamera and Cayenne were assembled in a different halls ... obviously I'm wrong.
Maybe the assembly of the "bodies-in-white" is carried out on different assembly lines because different welding jigs are needed?
fritz
White bodies are already assembled.
Cayenne is already over 60% assembled when it's delivered from Bratislava, they just have to fit the engine, the transmission and the gearbox. The trick is: Those 3 things put together make the bulk of the added value, hence the "Made in Germany" on the sticker whilst technically speaking the Cayenne is made in Slovakia by VW....
For Panamera, it's different. White bodies are made by VW in Germany and then Porsche is really adding at lot of value. The car is truly "Made in Germany" by Porsche.
I'll check.
RC:
Who wants to bet that the next gen Panamera has a completely different "butt"?
100% agree - at least we will see a different bumper, lights, which gives a different effect. But to be honest, the major problem is the C-Pillar and this is part of the frame and we will not see any changes with an facelift. I doubt to see any changes with the next model
Every facelift model has changes to rear, so we can expect the Panamera rear (and other aspects) will change. IMHO, the rear is just fine, and there is too much focus on the rear view. When one sees the overall design in person, the rear is very integrated.
The Panamera is way too "massive" for european roads I'm afraid. People aren't used to such cars and they don't like them. This is why BMW and Mercedes changed their 7 series and S class to a less "obvious" design to reduce the negative public perception of such cars.
Yes, the C-pillar is a huge problem and I also don't see any solution until the next generation Panamera.
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, Cayenne Turbo S, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
Whoopsy:
Lars997:
Cool shots and a damn good looking front of that car!
No one complaints about the front end, it's the butt they prefer to talk about.
I do . On this particular pic. , front end is the "ugly" one ( specialy on S / 4S ) and out of balance with the rear . I predict more changes on the front end when FL take place .
15-May-2009 12:38:11
I don't see how they can fix this with just a facelift
they need to do a lot more to make it right, this whole section needs a complete change... funny, with it whited out you could just picture in your mind what the Panamera could of been and the potential it had instead of making an french style egg-shaped stationwagon
15-May-2009 13:41:12
15-May-2009 14:35:13
Carlos from Spain:
they need to do a lot more to make it right, this whole section needs a complete change... funny, with it whited out you could just picture in your mind what the Panamera could of been and the potential it had instead of making an french style egg-shaped stationwagon
Carlos, just for a second there I thought you were going to suggest that they make a pick-up truck version.
fritz
15-May-2009 19:07:15
The Panamera is a great looking car!!
Just got back from a factory tour in Leipzig and have now seen the car in "flesh'. The Panamera is very colour sensitive. For example the red car was still there and looks terrible. Dark colours are best. Black/black with 20' wheels is a winner! (and will be the one I order). Car looks low, wide and angry in this combination.
Interior is very nice, but quite narrow. This is truly a 4-door sportscar. Room in interior is definitely not on par with a8/ 7-serie /s-class, but finish is beautiful. Bentley Continental like.
Although I love the Panamera I am not sure who will buy this car. Cayenne owners defintely not (too small); 7-series/A8 etc definitely not (sporty look. space in the back). So who would; 911 (and other sports car drivers; maybe BMW M5 etc) drivers who need a little bit of extra space every now and then.
Nice report, thanks! On who will buy a Panamera, I can just speak for myself. I recently bought a Cayenne Turbo S, primarily because I wanted a sporty family Porsche. (My previous two Porsches were a 997 Carrera S and a highly modified 996 TT). My kids love Porsches but are too big for a 997, and frankly as I get older I find myself a little more interested in comfort, space and speed. In three or four more years, when my daughter goes away to college and my son can ride his bike around more, I can easily see myself with a Panamera. Less bulky than a Cayenne, more spacious and comfortable than a 997 variant, and still elegant and powerful.
I still think that with the introduction of SUVs, limousines are practically obsolete. If the manufacturers could just lower the weight and introduce some sort of street variants of their SUVs, it would be great.
Porsche seems to plan a similar approach for their next gen Cayenne, more professional off-road capabilities will be available as an option only and it makes sense.
I also think that the excessive weight of some modern SUV is only caused by the fact that development made these models 99% off-road capable. Of course this is a good thing building robust SUVs but if you don't really need that capability, you actually pay for it for nothing AND it also results in a pretty heavy SUV.
Manufacturers need to go a different way if they don't want the SUV to "die" because of the public perception and environmental issues.
Reducing weight could be one of the milestones regarding modern future SUV models.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, Cayenne Turbo S, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW
When I saw the Infiniti FX series in the USA some years ago, I thought the dimensions and general stance would have been ideal for a Porsche SUV.
Also IMO a Porsche should have full off-road capability as an option. The basic car should be a road/field biased full time AWD car below 2000kgs.
Regions,
Referring to the Cayenne, the offroad package is already an option, locking diffs etc (basically off road capabilities) so they are not on the standard vehicle. I opted to go for the offroad package to keep the vehicle all round.
Cheers,
Mark