Porsche Panamera V6 and AWD Panamera 4 will bow in Beijing
by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Feb 16th 2010 at 9:58AM
2011 Porsche Panamera - Click above for high-res image gallery
Starting in May, fans of the big four-door gran turismo from Porsche will be able to opt for a more affordable and fuel efficient variant. The V6-powered Panamera and all-wheel-drive Panamera 4 will debut on April 23 at the Beijing Motor Show before going on sale worldwide a few weeks later. The new non-S and non-turbo variants are propelled by an updated 3.6-liter V6 engine that is also shared with the Cayenne and various other vehicles within the sprawling Volkswagen Group.
For the Panamera, and presumably the new Cayenne that debuts at the Geneva Motor Show in a couple of weeks, the V6 now produces 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. That's a bump of 10 hp and 22 lb-ft from the V6 in the current Cayenne. All V6-powered Panameras get Porsche's seven-speed PDK dual clutch gearbox with drive torque going to the rear axle or both axles in the case of the Panamera 4. Like V8-powered Panameras that have been on sale since last fall, the V6 versions also get automatic start-stop. EPA fuel economy numbers won't be available until closer to the on-sale date in the U.S., but the German press release quotes a combined rating of 25.3 mile per gallon (U.S.) for the rear-drive model and 24.5 mpg for the all-wheel-drive model. U.S. numbers will probably be about 3-4 mpg lower thanks to the more conservative test procedure used by the EPA.
In addition to lower operating costs, the V6 Panamera will also be less expensive to buy. The rear-drive model starts at $74,400 with the Panamera 4 carrying a base sticker of $78,900.
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