Auto News 5

Innsbruck, Austria -- There are cars out there that travel at speeds that are, at times, mind-blowing; there are cars that carry an enormous amount of kit and cater and cajole passengers with luxurious amenities and that cannot be slowed down by poor weather or road conditions.

Although I'm likely never to afford an Audi RS 6 Avant, I can say that I have driven one and will always look back to this time, carving Alpine passes, as one of the greatest road trips I've ever completed. The Audi RS 6 is the complete package: it has brand power, horsepower, Quattro power, and a powerful look capable of bringing Brock Lesnar to tears.


What is an Audi RS 6?
The RS 6 is the ultimate derivative of Audi's midsize offering, in wagon form. Unlike past models, the current RS 6 is not available as a sedan. The RS 7 Sportback will tempt those interested in a more conventional RS “sedan.”

Sadly, the Audi RS 6 will not come to the Canadian (or North American) market as interest in station wagons is next to nil, especially one in this price range. Here's a little dig: Mercedes' E 63 AMG wagon is obtainable, and it's really good...

The RS 6 is the ultimate derivative of Audi's midsize offering, in wagon form. Unlike past models, the current RS 6 is not available as a sedan. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

2014 Audi RS 6 Price and Specs
The 2014 Audi RS 6 is the bully of bullies thanks to its twin-turbocharged 4.0L V8. Horsepower output is rated at 560 and torque tips the scale at 516 lb-ft from a low 1,750 rpm.

An 8-speed Tiptronic transmission is the first leg in all that mojo's journey to all four wheels. The RS 6 is equipped with Audi's Quattro AWD system. It features a self-locking centre differential that distributes torque fore and aft. Wheel-selective torque vectoring is also part of the equation. An optional rear sport differential accelerates the outside rear wheel in a corner, effectively pushing the car towards the apex.

A tall top-gear ratio, cylinder deactivation, and the use of lightweight materials work in unison to help the RS 6 achieve a combined expected fuel rating of 9.8L/100km.

The German base price for the 2014 Audi RS 6 Avant is €107,900. With a few tasteful options (such as ceramic brakes) the price can climb north of €120,000. If the car came to Canada, the sticker price would likely hover between $90,000 and $100,000.

The 2014 Audi RS 6 is the bully of bullies thanks to its twin-turbocharged 4.0L V8. Horsepower output is rated at 560 and torque tips the scale at 516 lb-ft from a low 1,750 rpm. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

Driving the 2014 Audi RS 6 Avant
My time at the wheel served only one purpose: to prove that this car is as good (better even) than I expected.

The day prior to driving the RS 6, I refamiliarized myself with the RS 7 and was shocked to notice one decisive difference: All steering components, ratio and assistance (in all modes including Dynamic from Audi's Drive Select program) are identical save for overall track. Here, the RS 6 has a few millimetres more total width. This is enough to create a large variance. Turn-in is more crisp and immediate. Unfortunately, feedback through the wheel is limited.

The 2014 Audi RS 6's low V8 burble on start-up sends shivers down my spine. From that come cries of elation as the throttle reaches the firewall. The speed and sound created by this masterpiece of an engine are addictive. Knocking back gears with the wheel-mounted paddles only further increases arousal.

Words can scarcely describe the rush of the RS 6's accelerative force, but it is such that all manner of cognitive concentration are required to circumvent a fatal mistake. As the revs climb, the boom-boxing of the exhaust's roar reverberates within the cabin and temporarily numbs the senses. The struggle to return to full consciousness must be won quickly as a rapid pull on the right-hand paddle is necessary to avoid bouncing off the limiter.

Driving this car is an adventure. Thankfully, the saucer-size disc brakes crunch down on momentum ferociously, eliminating the fear of late braking through switchbacks on mountain passes. Furthermore, the Quattro AWD system masterfully keeps the right wheels pushing and pulling, quite literally catapulting the car out of a corner and blasting on to the next hairpin turn.

Driving this car is an adventure. Thankfully, the saucer-size disc brakes crunch down on momentum ferociously. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

Inside and Out of the 2014 Audi RS 6 Avant
Of all Audi's RS cars (and I'm not the only one to think so) the RS 6 is the most devastatingly and devilishly deviant looking. The widened wheel arches, massive wheels, and barn-door-sized grille all make the 6 the most physically shocking of the RS cars.

Draped in matte dark grey, the low and wide 2014 Audi RS 6 caught everyone's attention. There is no doubt that this is a special car.

Aboard, the RS 6's cabin borrows heavily from the S6 with a few extra touches such as a flat-bottom steering wheel and slightly more bolstered and aggressive seats. The remainder is as sumptuous as any Audi. Finding a perfect driving position occurs in moments thanks to the multiple adjustments -- not power-operated, which I think is brilliant and is called “weight-saving.”

Aboard, the RS 6's cabin borrows heavily from the S6 with a few extra touches. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

Comparing the 2014 Audi RS 6
The 2014 Audi RS 6 has only one real rival and it is the Mercedes Benz E 63 S-AMG 4MATIC Wagon. Both these cars have the power to alter the earth's rotation and make me collapse into a blundering mess of emotions at the very sight of them.

As much as I love the Merc, on looks alone, I'd give up my adopted E 63 and change the logo in my spare garage spot from the three-pointed star to the four rings... That's my new reality.

From GMM

Jean Todt has raced back into pole position to remain president of the FIA.

Earlier, it was rumoured his only challenger David Ward could give up his bid in order to back Mohammad Bin Sulayem, whose chances of dethroning Todt were considered far greater.

But Daily Mail correspondent Jonathan McEvoy now reports that Bin Sulayem, the high-ranking Middle Eastern official, has pulled out of the race.

It means Todt has "effectively won re-election", McEvoy claimed, because Ward "is struggling to enlist the 26 nominations he requires by the deadline of November 15".

Bin Sulayem confirmed: "Following careful consideration, I can confirm that I have accepted Jean Todt's invitation to support his re-election and to stand (instead) for a second term as FIA vice president for sport".

Mohammad Bin Sulayem and Jean Todt. (Photo: WRi2)

Drive Classic Cars Across The Auction Block

Ultimate Fantasy Number Four.

Editor's Note: This is the fourth of eight automotive fantasies from our November 2013 print issue. We'll be publishing the fantasies over the next few weeks on automobilemag.com. Look for the issue on newsstands now or download our iPad issue to read them all.

Photo Gallery: Drive Classic Cars Across The Auction Block - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Drive Classic Cars Across The Auction Block - Automobile Magazine

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Mercedes-Benz will launch a station wagon version of its CLA compact sedan in 2015.

Visitors to Walser Automotive Group's Web sites can simply click an I'll Take It button next to a vehicle listing from the store's inventory.

Aric was handed the pole position to Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race after qualifications were rained out for the second time this year at Talladega Super Speedway.

The driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports Ford was awarded the pole based on his practice speed on Friday.

“We really thought looking at the weather that there was a chance for rain,” said Almirola whose crew chief, Todd Parrott, was placed on indefinite suspension for violation of NASCAR's substance abuse policy.

Aric Almirola (Photo: NASCAR)

“It is always good for the guys back at the shop to put up that PR lap to showcase your race team and me and Marcos (Ambrose) are 18th and 19th in points so we are right next to each other when we go out for practice and they put us out in order of points so it worked out to where we were right next to each other.

“We went out and were committed to drafting up to the pack to try to put up the best lap that we could for both the recognition lap of how hard our guys work on our speedway stuff but also in case it did rain. That worked out.”

Jeff Burton, in one of his last drives for Richard Childress Racing will start second in a Chevrolet SS. Burton was a little chagrined at his good starting spot.

Photo: NASCAR

“I was along with them. Honestly there were four of us that went out and it just worked out where the four cars had gotten far enough back to where the front pack as Marcos (Ambrose) said they kind of got doubled up. Once they got doubled up then here we come, so I didn't have a grand plan.

“Like I told you in the spring I had a grand plan and I think we were 30th. Here I didn't have a grand plan and we were second.”

Series points leader, Matt Kenseth, starts 12th in a Toyota and Jimmie Johnson, who is second in the stands will start 11th.

Former Formula 1 driver Timo Glock clinched his first career victory in the German DTM championship, Sunday during the season finale at Hockenheim.

The race started under some rain, but the track was drying by the lap.

Glock, who drives a BMW M3 DTM, took the lead soon after then leader Canadian Bruno Spengler pitted for some new tires on lap 14 of 42.

Glock went as long as he could on his first set of Hankook tires, eventually making his first stop on lap 31. He pitted again soon after that, on lap 37.

"I knew I had a car to finish in the top 5, but I didn't know it was that fast!" said a happy Glock in the press conference.

Timo Glock, BMW M3 DTM (Photo: René Fagnan)

"Two weeks ago, we made the right call to change the set up more to my liking. On the warm-up lap, I had no grip, but I think that was because the tires were cold.

"I managed to get back in front and win the race. Now I'm happy to be among the few former F1 drivers to have won a DTM race."

Spaniard Roberto Mehri also scored his best result of the season, with a second-place finish at the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz C-Coupe.

Spengler, who started from pole aboard his own BMW M3 DTM, shot from fifth to third in the championship standings by earning the last spot on the podium.

Bruno Spengler (Photo: René Fagnan)

"I'm happy because I scored the pole yesterday, and with my third place I finish third in the championship. Also BMW wins the manufacturers' title," commented Spengler.

"I had a nice lead early in the race, but the balance of the car was changing as the track was drying during my second stint. After my second stop, I was still third, but too far from the leaders. I wanted to go faster, but I just couldn't," he added.

Audi's Mattias Ekström and Miguel Molina completed the top five, while Andy Priaulx (BMW) finished a strong weekend in sixth.

2013 champion Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) finished the season with a 26-point lead over Augusto Farfus (BMW) in second. Spengler managed to close the gap to "Rocky" to 60 points. BMW wins the manufacturers' title, and Phoenix the team championship.

Photo: René Fagnan

It was to say the least an incident-filled event as Will Power earned victory at the IndyCar grand finale at Fontana while Scott Dixon was able to hold on to fifth to secure his third IndyCar championship.

At the end of the evening, only eight cars were still running on the Californian oval to take the checkered flag; an indication of the intensity of the race.

Title contenders Scott Dixon (Ganassi) and Helio Castroneves (Penske) both endured a tough race.

It all started with Castroneves being called in for a stop when the pit lane was closed, forcing him to serve a drive-through penalty with less than 40 laps to go.

Even though he was able to get back to pace with the leaders and still had a shot at the title, the final blow came when he was forced to pit again to have his front broken wing repaired. Back out, he was one lap down.

Many of the contestants were forced to retire due to cooling problems cause by huge amount of debris that were being sucked into the cars' radiators.

That is what happened slowed down Dixon, who had to make a few extra stops late in the race to have his ducts cleaned out. Despite his misfortune, he was able to beat Castroneves and win the title by 27 points.

Scott Dixon (Photo: IndyCar)

Meanwhile, Will Power was enjoying a very strong night. The Austrakian led 103 of the 250 laps to finish in front of last year's winner Ed Carpenter.

In what will be his last stint with KV Racing, Ganassi bound Tony Kanaan crossed the line in third followed by James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport).

There were also a lot of accidents down the field. Justin Wilson caused the biggest when he caught a seam and spun in the middle of the track. He was T-boned by Tristan Vautier, and the resultant combination of smoke and debris accounted for several other cars.

All drivers but Wilson, who suffers from some pelvic fractures and a small pulmonary contusion, escaped unharmed.

Race results - IndyCar (Fontana)
Pos Driver Team/Engine Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske/Chevy 3h13m42.8699s
2. Ed Carpenter Carpenter/Chevy +1.4883s
3. Tony Kanaan KV/Chevy +1.8615s
4. James Hinchcliffe Andretti/Chevy +3.0395s
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi/Honda +15.8759s
6. Helio Castroneves Penske/Chevy +1 lap
7. Marco Andretti Andretti/Chevy +2 laps
8. Simona de Silvestro KV/Chevy +3 laps

Retirements
Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti/Chevy 242 laps
Charlie Kimball Ganassi/Honda 238 laps
JR Hildebrand Herta/Honda 237 laps
Sebastien Bourdais Dragon/Chevy 229 laps
Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Honda 217 laps
Alex Tagliani Ganassi/Honda 209 laps
Graham Rahal Rahal/Honda 200 laps
AJ Allmendinger Penske/Chevy 188 laps
Takuma Sato Foyt/Honda 144 laps
Justin Wilson Coyne/Honda 110 laps
Oriol Servia Panther/Chevy 110 laps
Josef Newgarden Fisher/Honda 110 laps
Tristan Vautier Schmidt/Honda 110 laps
James Jakes Rahal/Honda 110 laps
Carlos Munoz Andretti/Chevy 100 laps
Sebastian Saavedra Dragon/Chevy 69 laps
Pippa Mann Coyne/Honda 68 laps

Toyota Racing is to enter both the No. 7 and No. 8 TS030 Hybrid cars in the seventh and penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Shanghai on November 9.

Because regular Kazuki Nakajima is already committed to another series that weekend, Alex Wurz will drive No. 7 with Nicolas Lapierre alone.

Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Stéphane Sarrazin will team up behind the wheel of the No. 8.

Toyota has not revealed its intentions for the last round of the season, in Bahrain, but promised to do so in an upcoming statement.

Just this weekend, Nakajima, Lapierre and Wurz won the shortened Six Hours of Fuji, after only 16 laps, all behind the safety car.

From ALMS

Rebellion Racing wrote the final chapter in the history of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), winning the season-ending 16th Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Neel Jani and Nico Prost repeated as winners of the 1,000-mile race, joined by Nick Heidfeld in the No. 12 Rebellion Timepieces/Lemo Connectors/Speedy Garage Toyota-powered Lola B12/60. Jani took the checkered flag by six laps over P2 winner Ryan Briscoe, who helped co-driver Scott Tucker to his fourth consecutive championship.

The retirement of the P1 championship-winning No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03c-Honda five hours into the event over overheating problems opened the door for Rebellion, which spent the early hours battling to regain a lost lap resulting from an unnecessary contact penalty.

Muscle Milk's Lucas Luhr ended his ALMS career with a series-leading 49 victories, with the team carrying an eight-race winning streak into the finale that saw Luhr and teammate Klaus Graf clinch the driver, team and manufacturer titles.

Both the P2 and Prototype Challenge presented by Continental Tire (PC) titles went down to the wire, with Tucker and Chris Cumming earning the respective championships.

Team Falken Tire took a dramatic class victory in GT, while Corvette Racing's Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia took the drivers' title with a sixth-place finish.

Nick Tandy, Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler took their first triumph of the final season. Amazingly, the winning vehicle was a show car until it was pressed into service last month after an opening-lap incident in Baltimore damaged the team's primary car beyond repair.

A sixth-place finish for Garcia and Magnussen in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6 ZR1 co-driven by Jordan Taylor was good enough to capture the GT drivers' title, winning by six points over Dirk Muller.

A victory gave Flying Lizard Motorsports the GTC team title by 12 points over Alex Job Racing, while its drivers Jeroen Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeil won the drivers' title with a fourth-place finish.

Next year the ALMS will combine with the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The first scheduled activity for the unified series will be unofficial testing at Sebring International Raceway (Nov. 16-17) and Daytona International Speedway (Nov. 19-20), with the 2014 season opening with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 25-26, 2014.

Team Falken Tire (Photo: Road Atlanta)

Race results - ALMS (Road Atlanta)
1 - Heidfeld/Jani/Prost (Lola B12/60 Toyota) - Rebellion - 394
2 - Tucker/Briscoe/Franchitti (HPD ARX-03b) - Level5 - 388
3 - Sharp/Lazzaro/Brabham (HPD ARX-03b) - Extreme Speed - 388
4 - Cosmo/Kane/Dumbreck (HPD ARX-03b) - Level5 - 387
5 - Marcelli/Cumming/Johansson (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 380
6 - Rayhall/Negri (Oreca FLM09) - 8Star - 380
7 - Bennett/Kimber-Smith/Wilkins (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 377
8 - Henzler/Sellers/Tandy (Porsche 911) - Walker - 375
9 - Müller/Edwards/Auberlen (BMW Z4) - Rahal - 375
10 - Beretta/Malucelli/Liddell (Ferrari 458) - Risi - 375
11 - Dyson/Burgess/McMurry (Lola B12/60 Mazda) - Dyson - 374
12 - Alzen/Martin/Müller (BMW Z4) - Rahal - 374
13 - Bomarito/Wittmer/Kendall (SRT Viper) - SRT - 373
14 - Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 373
15 - Farnbacher/Goossens/Dalziel (SRT Viper) - SRT - 372
16 - Long/Braun/Christensen (Porsche 911) - CORE - 372
17 - Brown/van Overbeek/Bell (HPD ARX-03b) - Extreme Speed - 369
18 - Sweedler/Keen/Mowlem (Ferrari 458) - Alex Job - 369
19 - Gavin/Milner/Westbrook (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 369
20 - Drissi/Mitchell/French (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 365
21 - Guasch/Cheng/Cameron (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 359
22 - Canache./Pumpelly/Snow (Porsche 911 Cup) - Flying Lizard - 357
23 - Dempsey/Lally/Foster (Porsche 911 Cup) - Dempsey/Del Piero - 357
24 - Hedlund/Heylen/Fogarty (Porsche 911 Cup) - JDX - 357
25 - MacNeil/Bleekemolen/Bleekemolen (Porsche 911 Cup) - Alex Job - 356
26 - Neiman/von (Porsche 911 Cup) - Flying Lizard - 344
27 - Keating/Faulkner/Stanton (Porsche 911 Cup) - TRG - 339
28 - Armindo/Nielsen/Benitez, (Porsche 911 Cup) - NGT - 339
29 - Junqueira/Ende/Menezes (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 295
30 - Putman/Espenlaub/Law (Porsche 911 Cup) - Dempsey/Del Piero - 277
31 - Meyrick/Legge (DeltaWing) - Panoz - 209
32 - Graf/Luhr/Dumas (HPD ARX-03c) - Pickett - 200
33 - Nunez/Shears (Oreca FLM09) - Perf.Tech - 121
34 - Miller/Holzer/Collard (Porsche 911) - Miller - 76

From Rally America

Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and Craig Drew won the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) to secure their third consecutive Rally America National Championship title. LSPR was the concluding seventh round of the championship held in Houghton, Michigan on October 18-19.

Higgins and Drew arrived at LSPR in an anticipated winner-take-all showdown against Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino with the Rally America title on the line. Block and Gelsomino needed to outright win LSPR to complete an amazing come-from-behind effort to overtake the Subaru team in the points standings.

Dave Higgins, Subaru Rally Team USA (Photo: Alex Haugen)

Block came out strong at LSPR and built a slight lead over Higgins, but Higgins gained back the lead once the nighttime stages approached and finished the first day with a 13.4 second gap.

On the second day both Block and Higgins pushed hard with nothing to lose, but it was Block who blinked first when he dramatically rolled his car a mile short of the finish of stage 12. That effectively handed the Rally America National Championship to Higgins and Drew.

Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team's Antoine L'Estage and Marshall Clarke finished second place overall. It was L'Estage's second podium since winning the season opener Sno*Drift Rally held last January and his second finish in six attempts this year.

Higgins and Drew's LSPR victory helped seal Subaru as the Overall and Super Production winners in the Manufacturers' Championship.

From press release

Torrential rain at Fuji International Speedway forced the organizers to stop the Fuji round after only 16 laps were ran in three hours. Toyota won, but Audi claimed the World Endurance Championship (WEC) manufacturers' title.

The race was stopped after 3 hours and 46 minutes due to worsening weather conditions and deteriorating light, and the No.7 Toyota TS030 Hybrid of Kazuki Nakajima, Nicolas Lapierre and Alexander Wurz was declared the overall winner.  Half points were awarded to all drivers.

Second place for the No.2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Tom Kristensen, Loïc Duval and Allan McNish was enough to seal the FIA World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship for Audi, although the Drivers' title has yet to be decided. 

Photo: Audi

Only 16 laps of racing were completed - all behind the Safety Car - and the race was suspended twice by the Race Director for safety reasons.  The No.8 Toyota of Davidson-Buemi-Sarrazin and the No.1 Audi R18 of reigning World Champions Lotterer-Tréluyer-Fässler both suffered from problems during the race. 

The Toyota started from the pit lane after missing the pit exit closure time, and the Audi had to make three unscheduled pit stops to deal with debris in the air intake system but still finished on the lead lap, albeit in 26th place.

The No.12 Rebellion Racing LMP1 Privateer entry of Mathias Beche and Andrea Belicchi filled the third place on the overall podium, the Lola-Toyota finishing just ahead of the LMP2 class winner - the No.35 OAK Racing Morgan Nissan of Bertrand Baguette, Ricardo Gonzalez and Martin Plowman. 

While the closed cockpits of the GTE cars may have offered the drivers some protection in the driving rain at Fuji International Speedway today, the visibility in the middle of the grid was limited to almost nothing due to the spray from the 12 prototypes ahead of the leading LMGTE Pro entry. 

That car was Aston Martin Racing's No.97 Vantage V8 of Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and Frédéric Makowiecki which was classified as the winner, ahead of the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Fisichella-Bruni and the No.91 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR of Bergmeister-Pilet. 

Brazilian Bruno Senna, another fan favourite, was this weekend teamed with Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen in the No.95 Aston Martin Vantage V8 and their class victory in the LMGTE Am category has extended their lead in the points' classification.  

Sage Karam was able to secure the 2013 Indy Lights championship despite finishing third at the season's finale at Fontana while Carlos Munoz won the event.

Carlos Munoz took the lead ahead of Gabby Chaves early on, and, after that it was more a cat and mouse game between the two leaders. In the end, Munoz took his fourth win of the year.

Karam, meanwhile, was aware that third would be enough for him to secure the crown regardless, and was largely content to sit a second or so behind the lead pair to preserve his position. His final margin over Chaves was 11 points.

Polesitter Zach Veach finished fourth in front of Jorge Goncalvez.

Results - 50 laps
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Carlos Munoz Andretti 32m09.7580s
2. Gabby Chaves Schmidt +0.9966s
3. Sage Karam Schmidt +4.7697s
4. Zach Veach Andretti +7.2450s
5. Jorge Goncalvez Belardi +11.7835s
6. Juan Pablo Garcia Belardi +32.5430s
7. Giancarlo Serenelli Belardi +1 lap
8. Kyle O'Gara Schmidt +1 lap
9. Jack Hawksworth Schmidt +7 laps

After launching in 1928, the Volvo PV series ended its production run on October 20th, 1965. The final, black-coloured PV 544 G Sport can still be found at the Volvo Museum in Gutenberg.

The PV series remains one of the brand's most important models, with over 440,000 units. About a third of those were sold outside of Sweden.

Source: swedishcarclub.be

Photo: Volvo

Auto123.com Racing is providing motorsport fans with a live description of the last event of the 2013 DTM championship from the Hockenheimring in Germany.

TIMETABLE:
In Europe, the race will be held from 2 to 3 pm
In Montreal and the East Coast, the race will run from 8 to 9 am

For technical reasons, the commentaries are provided in both English and French.

Simply click on the box below to access the Live Coverage.

Model: 2010 to 2013 Porsche Panamera

Vehicle Type: Performance Sedan

The Verdict: Simply, the Panamera hasn't been on the road long enough or generated a large enough owner's community to nail down any hard facts related to its reliability. Shoppers are advised to seek out a used Panamera from a dealer-approved CPO program, which requires involved models to pass rigorous tests and inspections for maximum confidence.

Price: Panamera pricing varies wildly depending on options, trim grade, powertrain configuration, and feature content. Pricing between $60,000 and $150,000, depending on the model, isn't uncommon.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

What Owners Like: Not surprisingly, Panamera owners tend to rave about exclusivity, performance, handling, acceleration, and the brand's heritage. A rich, beautifully assembled interior is also noted. The Panamera should prove comfortable for four adults on a road trip, and AWD-equipped models have plenty of traction for slippery roads.

What Owners Dislike: Common complaints centre around the model's controversial looks and high cost of purchase and options. Some owners wish for a little less clutter of controls on the centre console, too.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

History/Description: Porsche launched their first production four-door car model for 2010, and have been selling the Panamera strongly ever since. Designed to be a four-seat, four-door sports car ready for any road or weather, it featured a one-of-a-kind cabin, exceptional performance and a laundry list of top-line features. Look for climate-controlled seats, xenon lights, voice-command, navigation, Bluetooth, a full driver computer, and plenty more.

Engine options included a strong 3.6L V6, a 4.8L V8 in various states of tune, and a twin-turbo version of that V8, also in various states of tune. Turbo and Turbo S models got the turbocharged mill, while the Panamera S models got the free-breathing V8. Base Panamera models got the V6. Note that a 4 in the model designation indicates the presence of All-Wheel Drive (AWD), which is standard on Turbo models. Look for a 7-speed PDK transmission with paddle shift for fully automatic operation and lightning fast, manual-mode shifting.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

Common Issues: As a sports model, an up-front check of the used Panamera should include tire condition, all fluids and brake-pad life. If the model you're considering has the available ceramic brakes, carefully inspect the (very expensive) rotors for signs of cracking.

Ensure the Panamera you're considering isn't suffering from a coolant leak, possibly from a cracked thermostat housing or leaky water pump.

Some owners reported excessive oil consumption, though given the limited number of Panamera owners, and even more limited number of them taking to the web to share their stories, it's unclear if this is a worrisome issue.

Scrutinize the cabin for signs of excessive wear to the seats and steering wheel, as well as door scuff plates. Run through all interior electronics, checking for proper operation of the Bluetooth interface, navigation, driver computer, climate control, and power-seat functions.

Note that the demanding and complicated electrical system in the Panamera can experience numerous glitches if the battery isn't fully charged, perhaps if the seller only drove the car on an infrequent basis. If you're planning to leave your Panamera in the garage for extended periods, consider investing in a “trickle charger.”

Finally, check all exterior ornamentation for signs of damage or missing badges or ornaments.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

Tom Tjaarda: A Fantasy Lived

Ultimate Fantasy Number Seven.

Editor's Note: This is the seventh of eight automotive fantasies from our November 2013 print issue. We'll be publishing the fantasies over the next few weeks on automobilemag.com. Look for the issue on newsstands now or download our iPad issue to read them all.

Photo Gallery: Tom Tjaarda: A Fantasy Lived - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Tom Tjaarda: A Fantasy Lived - Automobile Magazine

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Baltimore's port, a gateway for autos from BMW and Mazda, fully late Friday after an agreement was reached to temporarily extend local contracts. Longshoremen had partially resumed work earlier in the day, leaving car shipments still idled.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's talks on a $4 billion tie-up with Dongfeng are progressing more slowly than the carmaker had hoped, sources said after negotiators returned from meetings in China.

Infiniti is considering a sporty four-door coupe flagship in the mold of the Porsche Panamera.