RC:
Overall, the handling is just spectacular. The car doesn't understeer at all and I easily took a 100° curve at around 100 kph with a slight sliding of the rear. The car was in Sport Plus mode and while Sport Plus in the 997 seems to be pretty close to turning PSM off completely, I never got the feeling in the Panamera Turbo that Sport Plus can be a challenge. The car was easily controllable, even at the limit but of course the AWD may have had something to do with it. Speaking of AWD: I can now say with certainty that any non-professional driver wouldn't stand a chance in a RWD car of a similar size, like the M5 for example, against this beast. The AWD setup is very very dynamic, it allows a RWD car-like behavior at the limit...without actually really sliding too much. I really threw the car into curves and it felt like my C63 AMG Coupe, at times even better since I never encountered any traction problems. Nothing.
Many congrats on the excellent loaner car 
Your report is a very interesting read indeed 
As you write, I also think that the handling setup of the Panamera is THE factor differentiating the Panamera from all its front/front-mid engined competitors. The perceived weight balance is closer to a 911 than to any sports limousine I know. Even when you drive bends at lower speeds you can immediately feel how neutral the car turns into the bend where in other front-engined performance cars (including smaller ones like M3, C63 etc. - which the Panamera can outperform in terms of handling!?!?!) you get a heavy, sedate feeling. The Panamera is a fun car to drive - enjoy it to the fullest 
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