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19th
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“Why the heck would I want a Porsche with room for the wife and kids?!”
The guy filling his Honda Accord Coupe next to me at the gas station was perturbed at the existence of a four-door Porsche. It was his first time seeing a Panamera.
“Well, what about a road-trip to Vegas with your buddies?” I replied.
“Hmm, suppose so, yea.”
The Panamera GTS
Porsches with room for the wife and kids sell. The Cayenne, for example, is the controversial sport-ute from the sports car brand, but it's also the best selling Porsche on the road.
The Panamera came after it. And the Panamera GTS, launched this year, is the most youthful and athletic naturally aspirated Panamera available.
Despite living in the shadows of its 500-plus horsepower turbocharged brothers, it's no slouch. Panamera GTS is engineered and styled to put on a show in a really big way -- and that's whether you're alone, with the spouse and offspring, or on a weekend road trip with your bros.
The hooligan
The looks start pulling anyone near the Panamera GTS into its experience. Even stock, the Panamera looks like it could be on the cover of a custom Porsche magazine. Where other Panamera models look mature and stately, the GTS is raucous and exciting. It's the family hooligan, probably.
Big black wheels, scoops, vents, and giant red brakes communicate serious sportiness. The linebacker stance, meaty body and LED headlight clusters that look like Ironman's Arc Reactor chest piece are equally as attention-grabbing. Hell, the spoiler even deploys and unfolds in stages like something out of Transformers that's about to decapitate a piece of military equipment.
Snarling power
The engine sucks drivers and all within earshot into the Panamera GTS experience, too. Displayed like high-tech art under the hood, the 4.8L V8 makes 430 horsepower in this application while spinning to beyond 7,000 rpm.
For GTS duty, engineers specified several modifications to the standard engine -- including cast aluminum pistons, a high-flow intake, meatier cams, and a new computer to turn in 30 more horsepower and a higher redline. It performs best when spinning fast, and makes sound effects like your favourite automatic weapon.
And more so when you push the little button with the picture of a tailpipe on it.
This opens a trap door in the exhaust, ramping the GTS' soundtrack up from an aggressive hum to a full-out mechanical symphony that burbles and barks, farts, crackles and pops. There are even special pipes that blast the engine's sound into the cabin at full throttle.
Hammer down and the sounds will play in your head while you try to sleep. If money were no object, I'd buy this machine for the sound effects alone.
Robo-tranny
Further involvement comes from the dual-clutch transmission. Driven hard, it'll call your favourite racing simulation game to mind with shift paddles summoning instantaneous and startlingly quick gear changes. Recalibrated transmission electronics allow for faster shifting than the standard Panamera, too.
Perfect rev-matching in both directions? Check. Millisecond reaction to your commands? Check. Call for a downshift, and it's like having thunder at your fingertips. This is paddle shifting the way it should be: entertaining as all heck. A proper manual is unavailable here. Which sort of sucks. However, truth is that no human being is changing gears this fast.
The tester also came equipped with a computer-assisted launch control function that pre-revs the engine, hammers the clutch into action, and sends power to all four wheels as quickly as they can put it to the road.
I tried it out once when no law-enforcement officials were looking, and the off-the-line kick sent the sunglasses I keep on my ball cap into the rear seat. It's like being kicked in the junk by a velvet slipper. Passing and merging power are equally as aggressive, and unlike the Panamera Turbo and Turbo S, the GTS' sound effects actually tell you it's working hard when your boot drops.
Size-defying handling
And though it's got four doors and a footprint approaching minivan territory, the Panamera GTS steers, brakes and handles with all the flattering precision and stability promised by that badge on its hood. Apparently, nobody told this machine how big and heavy it was. It's an easy car to enjoy a comfortable cruise in, or to use for ripping winding roadways to bits.
Real-life ready
Drivers take in the experience from a cabin that's richly trimmed with leather, suede, chrome, and aluminum. All the tech-y, high-dollar staples are on board, as are a dash-mounted lap timer, a fighter-jet style centre console, reconfigurable instrument cluster display, and supportive racing-style bucket seats for four.
It's gorgeous in here. And there's room for tall people, the ride quality is excellent, and it's easy to board and exit. There's even room in the trunk for an IKEA shelf.
So, Panamera GTS pulls off all that important real-world, four-door stuff while looking like it's about to powerslide through a shopping mall with Skrillex blasting on the stereo. Its mature, sporty Porsche-ness with a refreshingly youthful dose of visual and aural adrenaline dialed in. A great split personality.
Complaints include limited visibility while reversing and a less-than-user-friendly infotainment system. Panamera is also wide and low and somewhat difficult to park. Price of admission to the Panamera GTS show? High-luxury, high-tech, high-performance for four starts around 127 grand.
The guy filling his Honda Accord Coupe next to me at the gas station was perturbed at the existence of a four-door Porsche. It was his first time seeing a Panamera.
“Well, what about a road-trip to Vegas with your buddies?” I replied.
“Hmm, suppose so, yea.”
 |
The Panamera GTS
Porsches with room for the wife and kids sell. The Cayenne, for example, is the controversial sport-ute from the sports car brand, but it's also the best selling Porsche on the road.
The Panamera came after it. And the Panamera GTS, launched this year, is the most youthful and athletic naturally aspirated Panamera available.
Despite living in the shadows of its 500-plus horsepower turbocharged brothers, it's no slouch. Panamera GTS is engineered and styled to put on a show in a really big way -- and that's whether you're alone, with the spouse and offspring, or on a weekend road trip with your bros.
The hooligan
The looks start pulling anyone near the Panamera GTS into its experience. Even stock, the Panamera looks like it could be on the cover of a custom Porsche magazine. Where other Panamera models look mature and stately, the GTS is raucous and exciting. It's the family hooligan, probably.
Big black wheels, scoops, vents, and giant red brakes communicate serious sportiness. The linebacker stance, meaty body and LED headlight clusters that look like Ironman's Arc Reactor chest piece are equally as attention-grabbing. Hell, the spoiler even deploys and unfolds in stages like something out of Transformers that's about to decapitate a piece of military equipment.
 |
| The linebacker stance, meaty body and LED headlight clusters that look like Ironman's Arc Reactor chest piece are equally as attention-grabbing. (Photo: Justin Pritchard) |
Snarling power
The engine sucks drivers and all within earshot into the Panamera GTS experience, too. Displayed like high-tech art under the hood, the 4.8L V8 makes 430 horsepower in this application while spinning to beyond 7,000 rpm.
For GTS duty, engineers specified several modifications to the standard engine -- including cast aluminum pistons, a high-flow intake, meatier cams, and a new computer to turn in 30 more horsepower and a higher redline. It performs best when spinning fast, and makes sound effects like your favourite automatic weapon.
And more so when you push the little button with the picture of a tailpipe on it.
This opens a trap door in the exhaust, ramping the GTS' soundtrack up from an aggressive hum to a full-out mechanical symphony that burbles and barks, farts, crackles and pops. There are even special pipes that blast the engine's sound into the cabin at full throttle.
Hammer down and the sounds will play in your head while you try to sleep. If money were no object, I'd buy this machine for the sound effects alone.
 |
| Under the hood, the 4.8L V8 makes 430 horsepower while spinning to beyond 7,000 rpm. (Photo: Justin Pritchard) |
Robo-tranny
Further involvement comes from the dual-clutch transmission. Driven hard, it'll call your favourite racing simulation game to mind with shift paddles summoning instantaneous and startlingly quick gear changes. Recalibrated transmission electronics allow for faster shifting than the standard Panamera, too.
Perfect rev-matching in both directions? Check. Millisecond reaction to your commands? Check. Call for a downshift, and it's like having thunder at your fingertips. This is paddle shifting the way it should be: entertaining as all heck. A proper manual is unavailable here. Which sort of sucks. However, truth is that no human being is changing gears this fast.
The tester also came equipped with a computer-assisted launch control function that pre-revs the engine, hammers the clutch into action, and sends power to all four wheels as quickly as they can put it to the road.
I tried it out once when no law-enforcement officials were looking, and the off-the-line kick sent the sunglasses I keep on my ball cap into the rear seat. It's like being kicked in the junk by a velvet slipper. Passing and merging power are equally as aggressive, and unlike the Panamera Turbo and Turbo S, the GTS' sound effects actually tell you it's working hard when your boot drops.
 |
| Further involvement comes from the dual-clutch transmission. (Photo: Justin Pritchard) |
Size-defying handling
And though it's got four doors and a footprint approaching minivan territory, the Panamera GTS steers, brakes and handles with all the flattering precision and stability promised by that badge on its hood. Apparently, nobody told this machine how big and heavy it was. It's an easy car to enjoy a comfortable cruise in, or to use for ripping winding roadways to bits.
Real-life ready
Drivers take in the experience from a cabin that's richly trimmed with leather, suede, chrome, and aluminum. All the tech-y, high-dollar staples are on board, as are a dash-mounted lap timer, a fighter-jet style centre console, reconfigurable instrument cluster display, and supportive racing-style bucket seats for four.
It's gorgeous in here. And there's room for tall people, the ride quality is excellent, and it's easy to board and exit. There's even room in the trunk for an IKEA shelf.
 |
| Drivers take in the experience from a cabin that's richly trimmed with leather, suede, chrome, and aluminum. (Photo: Justin Pritchard) |
So, Panamera GTS pulls off all that important real-world, four-door stuff while looking like it's about to powerslide through a shopping mall with Skrillex blasting on the stereo. Its mature, sporty Porsche-ness with a refreshingly youthful dose of visual and aural adrenaline dialed in. A great split personality.
Complaints include limited visibility while reversing and a less-than-user-friendly infotainment system. Panamera is also wide and low and somewhat difficult to park. Price of admission to the Panamera GTS show? High-luxury, high-tech, high-performance for four starts around 127 grand.