2010 Porsche Panamera Technology Overview

We've driven the new Porsche Panamera in Germany, and we like it a lot. Here's a peek under the skin at some of the technical highlights of the most radical Porsche in decades.

BODY
The Panamera is long, wide and low. Overall length is 195.6 in., width is 76.0 in., and it stands just 55.8-in. tall. Wheelbase is 115.0 in., enough to allow a generous front to rear seat couple, critical for ensuring the car comfortably accommodates four adults. The body shell is knitted together from a number of metals. High strength steels, including Boron-alloyed (shown in red), polyphase (orange), and micro-alloyed (yellow) are used to create an ultra-stiff passenger safety cell. The voluptuous rear fenders are very deep draw stampings, which meant they had to be steel (green). At the front is an aluminum subframe (blue) designed to manage front impact loads. The hood, rear hatch, and fenders are also aluminum, as are the doors, which have ultra-lightweight magnesium frames (turquoise). Despite the extensive use of lightweight materials, the Panamera is still a substantial car - the base, two wheel drive S weighs 3969lbs, the all-wheel drive 4S 4101lbs, and the Turbo 4344lbs.

ENGINE
The Panamera is powered by a 4.8-liter direct injection V-8 that develops 400 hp in naturally aspirated for, and 500 hp with the help of a pair of turbochargers. An evolution of the engine that powers the Cayenne SUV, it features an aluminum block with closed deck construction and a dry sump. The dry sump oil reservoir is located within the engine to save space and weight. The aluminum heads have dual overhead camshafts actuating four valves per cylinder. The intake cam features Porsche's VarioCam Plus variable valve timing system. Fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber at pressures of up to 1740psi, and the cooling effect of the fuel on the combustion allows a compression ratio of 12.5:1 in the naturally aspirated version, and 10.5:1 in the turbocharged variant. The Turbo engine's twin turbochargers are fed via a common air cleaner and two intercoolers, one for each cylinder bank, and deliver up to 12 psi of boost at 2500 rpm at sea level. The naturally aspirated engine develops 400 hp at 6500 rpm, and 369 lb-ft of torque between 3500 rpm and 5000 rpm. The Turbo engine develops 500 hp at 6000 rpm, and 516 lb-ft of torque between 2250 rpm and 4000 rpm. Porsche claims 0-60 mph times of 5.2 sec for the Panamera S, 4.8 sec for the 4S, and 4.0 sec for the Turbo.