Porsche will debut Panamera in August for North America audience – Looks like Monterey Car Week in August will be when it all goes down. Porsche is supposed to have the debut at The Quail which is an exclusive classic automobile show on the grounds of the Quail Lodge Resort. An appropriate time and place for NA to see the car. The Panamera is supposed to go on sale October 17th in the U.S. [Via Motor Trend]
Porsche denies reports of 5 more potential investors – How can a week go by without mentioning something about this deal? According to Porsche, Qatar is the only group they’re talking to about a stake in the company. Porsche now has a massive pile of debt to the tune of $12.5 billion. Porsche’s stock is down too. [Via Forbes.com]
Porsche Human Performance Centre helps break world record – I’ve talked about Porsche’s Human Performance Centre in the past, but didn’t realize they were on task to do something like this. Guess it legitimizes their entry into the Human Performance arena. Basically 12 runners set a new world record for the longest distance covered in 48 hours. Previously set at 495.76 miles last April (2008), this time they covered 539.86 miles. That’s a lot of trips from the couch to the fridge for me. [Via Autoblog.com]
Techart releases specs on their tuned Porsche Cayenne Diesel – Upgrades to the Cayenne Diesel include comprehensive engine and chasis conversions along with interior and aerodynamic styling upgrades. One of the more interesting upgrades is an option to increase the output of the Cayenne’s 3.0-liter diesel from 240 hp to 290 hp which also includes a torque boost to 465 lb ft of torque. 0 to 60 mph drops from 8.3 seconds to 7.7 seconds. The coolest thing is CO2 emissions and fuel consumption remain unchanged. [Via 4WheelsNews.com]
7.7;very impressive.
Busy front and it’s painted white: makes me sad.
diesel not always a bad thing!
seems like a no brainer conversion to get on the diesel. no change in fuel consumption? almost sounds too good to be true
James – it’s a no brainer until you see the price tag I’m sure. With the kind of scratch you’re going to have to lay out for that thing I’d like to see something that does a little south of 7.7 secs.
The Oregonian highlighted the new Panamera coming out this year in a good article.
Can’t wait to start seeing the Panamera out on the streets.
Andrew, are you sure you want soccer moms barreling down the interstate in turbo diesel SUV’s while talking on their cell phones and yelling at the kids?
Those runners are freakin impressive! They were running 5 minute miles for 2 days straight.
12 Billion, that’s nothing compared to the good old USA. We double that number every day.
Uhhh… Good call rb. On second thought, 7.7 sounds plenty fast. 🙂
woot woot
hate the cayenne
though this one is sweet
Very nice.
this one is sweet
ive actually been getting (quasi) spam emails about the panamera – the ones through “third party” vendors. they are pulling out all the stops i guess
Update:
Porsche stock soars on reports of Qatar buy-in – Summary
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/277283,porsche-stock-soars-on-reports-of-qatar-buy-in–summary.html
If they are going to do a diesel it might as well be on the Cayenne. Something different to get more people hooked on it I guess.
rb – this really is turning into quite the sordid tale.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8vc93_.C1ns
I honestly haven’t been keeping up with it too well, but it is confusing to try to figure out who is buying whom here.
“Qatar needs to take over the VW options before Volkswagen would proceed with a plan to buy a 49 percent stake in Porsche’s carmaking unit, two of the people said. “
wouldn’t even want to drive 540 miles in 48 hours,let alone run it.
Andrew, this has been going on for a couple of years. VW and Porsche will be together, the question remains: who will control it all? In the past couple of years, Audi (owned by VW) has played nice with Porsche in some aspects of racing. I think it’s inevitable, but Porsche, being family controlled, and having 51% of VW, seem to be heading towards their goal.
Problem with Porsche being bought out, it becomes hostage to the public in the market. Im also afraid that it’ll lose whats made it special over the years…being integrated into “another” car maker may lead to cuts here and there to reduce expenses etc… Its like a high end clothes company being sold at walmart. You strip away the italian fabric and stick the same label on to a “made in china” product.
true russ.everything starts to come out of a “parts bin”and cars become more alike.