M136ID. 11. The Panamera

The arrival of a new Porsche is a very special occasion. But the launch of the Panamera, the first 4-door saloon, is indeed a landmark event. Following the success of the Cayenne SUV, this is a new example of Porsche expanding its range beyond its core models such as the 911 and the boxter.

Porsche boldly claims that the Panamera is a cross between a sports coupe, a limousine and an estate. When it comes to appearance, the Panamera divides opinion like few other cars do. Majority of the people felt that the rear design was really bad, and so was the front nose. However, seeing the car in metal, a few people changed their minds after having a look at it in the flesh. It may not be a beautiful car, but its unusual dimensions and shape challenge the design conventions in a very positive way.

However negative the opinions may have been on the exterior, it is a different story on the inside. The Panamera has a very sensational interior. The centre console in particular, is a beacon of outstanding design, with two rows of thin, chrome buttons running vertically alongside a centrally positioned gear lever. The cars tall rear section provides whopping amounts of head room, much more than rivals such as the Aston Martin Rapide.

The Panamera’s cabin is indeed a place to hang out, no matter where you sit. Those in the back have access to the car’s optional rear seat entertaintment package, which consists of two 800×480-pixel, 7-inch TFT displays mounted in the rear of the front headrests, and a pair of wireless infrared headsets. Unlike many rear-seat entertainment set-ups, the system in the Panamera is controlled via touch, rather than an infrared remote control. This is great as it means there’s no need for passengers to share a remote and no chance of losing it under the seat.

The Porsche Panamera Turbo is a remarkable car for many reasons. It’s incredibly fast, offers a stonking audio system, and packs in a comprehensive array of cabin tech. It’s also brilliant to drive. Discard any misgivings about its exterior — this car proves beauty is only skin-deep.

*Reference – Reviews cnet by Charles Kloet – [Online] available from <http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/cars/porsche-panamera-turbo-review-50004124/,>

Auto Express – [Online] available from <http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/237370/porsche_panamera.html>

*Image – [Online] avaiable from <http://www.netcarshow.com/porsche/2010-panamera/1600×1200/wallpaper_1d.htm&gt;

M136ID. 10. The Cayenne

The last thing expected to come out from a respected car maker such as Porsche was a Super-Utility-Vehicle. However, that was exactly what happened in the year 2001, when Porsche unveiled the Cayenne. Porsche enthusiasts were enraged by the idea. It took a while for many to accept the very concept of a four door Porsche, let alone the fact that it was a truck!

And the reason for this decision by Porsche – was to Survive on its own. The Porsche Company almost died an economic death in the early 90s. At this time of desperation, the company got a new CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking. He saw that the world had changed and so should Porsche. He explained, “For Porsche to remain independent, it can’t be dependent on the most fickle segment in the market…We don’t want to become just a marketing department of some giant [automaker]…We have to make sure we’re profitable enough to pay for future development ourselves.”

In other  words, Porsche needed a new model, that would widen its appeal than what the 911 and Boxter were able to do. But the reason for deciding to make an SUV was the fact that SUV’s were hugely popular in the USA, which was Porsche’s largest market. Besides, 2 prestigious German car makers, BMW and Mercedes Benz were selling the X5 and the ML respectively with huge success.

It also turned out the majority of Porsche owners had at least 2 other cars with them, and one of them turned out to be an SUV. Clearly, Porsche knew what it was doing. If the Boxster had been a “bet-the-company miracle car,” the Cayenne was an astute hedge against the sports-car market’s inevitable next crunch. And a popular hedge it was.

Within a year of the U.S. launch, Business Week reported that strong Cayenne sales had helped Porsche pay down its debt to a modest $128 million and amass $2.1 billion in cash, this despite the SUV program costs. And Porsche’s net profit margin stood at 10.1 percent, tops in the industry. No wonder Business Week titled its story, “This SUV can tow an entire carmaker.”

The Cayenne was developed in collaboration with VW, who were making their first ever SUV, the Touareg. This was a sensible way to spread costs over two fairly low-volume products. The deal was announced in 1998.

The Cayenne was manufactured in a brand new plant in Leipzig, as there was no room to produce the SUV in its plant at Zuffenhausen.

And so the stage was set. The one remaining question was whether even a Porsche SUV could possibly deliver the performance, quality and excitement of Porsche’s sports cars. The answer to that is a resounding YES. The Cayenne went on to become a sales success, and changed Porsches financial condition. Porsche went on to become one of the most profitable car manufacturers.

At the same time, The Cayenne went on to be recognized as the most sporty and dynamic SUV on sale. It became famous for driving and handling like a sports car, and in Turbo form, proved to be almost as fast as a Carrera S through a track.

*Reference – How stuff Works [Online] – available from <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/porsche-cayenne-history.htm,>

*Image – [Online] available from <http://www.porsche.com/uk/models/cayenne/cayenne-turbo/gallery/>

M136ID. 9. The Carrera GT

The Carrera GT was revealed at the Geneva motor show in the year 2003. The Car was a final production version of the concept car revealed in the 2001 Paris Auto Salon. It was Porsche’s first supercar after the successful 959. It was, at its time on of the few cars that rivalled the Ferraro Enzo, along with the Mercedes McLaren SLR.

Unlike the iconic 911, the Carrera GT was a complete bottom up design. It’s styling was very different from Porsche’s current Portfolio, and thus helped it stand out as a truly amazing machine.

The project was heavily inspired by Porsche’s successful motorsport programme. After being victorious at the Le Mans in the years 1995 and 1997, Porsche revealed a new 5.5 litre V10, which though didn’t prove in the races, went on to star in the Carrera GT Concept car in 2001.

The Carrera GT featured many futuristic hallmarks derived from motor sport. It sported a carbon fibre chassis, dry sump lubrication, inboard suspension, and a mi-mounted engine that was engineered to sit as low as possible to the ground.

Porsche described the GT’s interior as pure function oriented than luxury oriented. It featured a cockpit free of un-necessary comfort features, and pushed focus to a sporty driving experience. It featured high tech materials such as carbon, magnesium and leather on most of the surfaces. The car also featured the 911 steering wheel, which didn’t follow the F1 trend to put as many function on the wheel as possible. This old-school approach provided a refreshing feeling as opposed to other offerings, contributing to the GT’s ambiance and ensuring it will remain a timeless design.

Through its design language alone, the Carrera GT expresses its truly outstanding performance as an uncompromising, no-nonsense supercar. The design of the Carrera GT shows a convincing resemblance in design to Porsche’s production cars, even providing a certain reminiscence of Porsche’s legendary racing cars.

The typical Porsche face with the front lid swept back like an arrow and the elevated wheel arches, for example, take up the design of Porsche’s legendary sports cars.

The mid-engine concept, finally, is clearly accentuated by the forward-moving cockpit and the long gap between the door and the rear axle.

*Reference – Supercars.net bye Richard Owen – [Online] available from <http://www.supercars.net/cars/2387.html,>

*Image – [Online] available from <http://cdn-www.rsportscars.com/foto/03/carreragt06_011600.jpg&gt;

M136ID. 8. The 959

The Porsche 959 was an evolution of the iconic 911. It went on to become one of the 81’s ultimate supercar, and can even be said to be one of the first ever supercars. It stands out for its superb technology platform which were well ahead of its time back then. It’s only rival at the time was another legend, the lightweight Ferrari F40, which also became an icon of the time.

During the 1980’s the 959 briefly held the title of being the world’s fastest street-legal production car. And it was beaten only marginally by the mighty Ferrari F40. However, the 959 was known to be far ahead of the Ferrari in terms of technology and equipment list, when the F40 was a bare basic light-weight super car.

The 959 was hailed as being the most technologically advanced road-going sports car oever built and it was one of the first high performance cars to use an all-wheel drive system, which itself was a technological marvel. The technology was so advanced and efficient, that it went on to star in almost all cars that Porsche manufactured since then.

The 959 was powered by a new 2.85 litre flat-6 engine derived from the famous “Moby Dick” race car. The cooling system of the 959 was a water-air-cooled hybrid where the cylinder heads were water cooled, and the engine block air-cooled. The engine produced 450BHP @ 6500rpm and 500Nm at 5500rpm.

The all-wheel drive system developed for the 959 is, even today regarded as one of the most sophisticated 4WD systems ever made, because it is the only one which can vary the front/rear torque split ratio under normal running conditions, while other designs can only reallocate when tire slip occurs.

Porsche used aerospace technology to manufacture the bodywork of the 959. The roof, fenders and the rear section were made of Kevlar, the front bumper from polyurethane and front bonnet and doors were made of Aluminium.

Porsche offered the 959 in two versions, the fully loaded “Komfort” and the lightened and less comfortable “Sport” version. Some speculations for offering in two version are that the 959 had some serious weight problems: even the lighter “Sport” version was measured 1,566 kg with a full tank of fuel when weighed by Auto, Motor und Sport. This corresponds to about 1,535 kg kerb weight meaning that even the sport version is nearly 200kg heavier than the factory specification of 1,350 kg. We assume that Porsche offered the Sport version to get at least 100kg closer to the figure “promised” in the official information.

In the “Sport” version the variable ride height and damping and all the luxury items like air-conditioning, power windows, central lock, the (useless) rear seats and even passenger side mirror were deleted. The electric leather seats were replaced by manually-adjustable sports seats.

*Reference – Deutschnine [Online] available from <http://www.deutschnine.com/porsche-supercars/history-of-the-porsche-959.php,>

* Image – [Online] available from <http://forums.mwerks.com/showthread.php?4790098&gt;