Kahn’s New…Project Car: The Porsche Panamera Sports Saloon

Say what you want about the Panamera, but fact is the sports saloon model has proved to be a hit for Porsche with the company having delivered close to 10,000 units in the first five months of the year alone.

The Panamera’s success has of course caught the attention of the aftermarket industry with more and more companies jumping on the tuning bandwagon. This here proposal comes courtesy of Afzal Kahn and his crew.

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New Porsche Panamera Diesel Returns 6.3lt/100km or 37.3mpg

European Porsche shoppers will soon have the option of ordering a diesel-powered version of the Panamera sports saloon. The most fuel-efficient model of the Panamera range is equipped with a Porsche-tuned version of the VW Group’s widely used 3.0-liter V6 TDI employing common rail direct injection technology and electrically controlled variable geometry turbochargers (VGTs).

The six-cylinder unit produces a maximum output of 250HP (184 kW) between 3,800 rpm and 4,400 rpm and a peak torque of 550Nm (405.7 lb-ft) available from 1,750 rpm to 2,750 rpm. The V6 is hooked up to an eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission while a start/stop system comes as standard. The Panamera Diesel is offered exclusively with rear-wheel drive.

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Schmidt Revolution Releases Light Tune for Porsche Panamera 4S

The Porsche Panamera continues to draw attention from Europe’s aftermarket tuners, only this time, Schmidt Revolution’s proposal for the sports saloon is far more subtle than what we’re used to.

The German tuner starts with a standard Panamera 4S, which leaves Porsche’s factory with a 4.8-liter V8 engine churning out 400-horses and 500Nm of peak torque. The performance modifications, courtesy of Rennsport, include a software optimization (€990 or about US$1,443) that increase output to 425HP and 535Nm, along with a suspension module (€390 or around US$568) that lower’s the ride height by 40mm and sport exhaust system (€590 or about US$860).

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Porsche Improves Cayenne’s V6 Diesel and Introduces 540HP Powerkit for Turbo Model

Less than a year after the market launch of the second iteration of the Cayenne, Porsche has introduced a revised version of the SUV’s diesel engine while also improving and adding new options to the rest of the range. Beginning with the Cayenne Diesel, the 3.0-liter V6 oil-burner has been reworked by Porsche engineers and features a new turbocharger with improved response and greater efficiency, increased direct injection pressure to 2000 bar and a lighter crankshaft.

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Gemballa Debuts Panamera Mistrale and Cayenne Tornado at Top Marques Monaco Show

For 30 years now, German-based tuning house Gemballa has been taking the latest Porsche models and transforming them into custom machines with wild outputs. Despite the recent loss of the firm’s founder, Uwe Gemballa, the company continues to roll new creations. At this week’s 2011 Top Marques Monaco Show (April 14-17), Gemballa is showing off two newcomers, the Porsche Cayenne II based Tornado and the Panamera sedan-based Mistrale.

Both the Tornado and the Mistrale feature a heavily customized body with unique front and rear ends, and an array of bespoke aero parts. According to the German tuning house, the new components not only change the appearance of the two Porsche models, but also help reduce weight.

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New Porsche Panamera Turbo S Comes with Uprated 550HP V8

Porsche officially lifted the veils off the most powerful and fastest version of the Panamera to date, the new Turbo S. The latest addition to the sports saloon’s range features an uprated version of the standard Turbo model’s 4.8-liter force-fed V8 engine with improved turbochargers boasting titanium-aluminium turbine wheels and modified engine control management.

These changes boost output by 50HP to 550HP and peak torque from 700 to 750 Nm (553 lb-ft), while in the “Sport” and “Sport Plus” mode of the standard Sport Chrono Package Turbo (as well as during kick-down in normal mode) the eight cylinder engine delivers 800Nm (590 lb-ft) courtesy of the over-boost function.

When using the Launch Control function, the Panamera Turbo S completes the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.8 seconds [0-60mph in 3.6 seconds], and can reach a top speed of 191 mph (307km/h). In comparison, the standard Panamera Turbo needs 4.2 seconds and can go up to 303km/h (188mph).

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Porsche to Unveil New 550HP Panamera Turbo S this Week

*Standard Porsche Panamera Turbo pictured above

There have been rumors floating around the internet lately about a new flagship version of Porsche’s Panamera sports saloon named the Turbo S. We asked around and according to Carscoop sources, the new Panamera Turbo S is in fact real and it will be revealed by the end of this week.

The most potent model of the Panamera series to date is based on the Turbo model. It features a modified 4.8-liter turbocharged V8 engine delivering around 50 more ponies for a total output of approximately 550HP. Top speed is pegged at 307 km/h (191mph) and it will hit 100km/h (62mph) in 3.8 seconds. That’s compared to the standard Panamera Turbo’s 303km/h (188mph) top speed and 4.2 sec. sprint time.

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New Porsche Commercial Shows Sports Cars Doing Ordinary Activities in Style

Porsches are renowned for their every day usability, although it's hard to believe this is the main reason for which people buy them. However, in its most recent commercial, Porsche promotes the practical side of its 911, Cayman and Boxster sports cars.

The ad is made up of four short fragments called ‘Snowmobile’, ‘Pickup Truck’, ‘Getaway Car’ and ‘School Bus' that show a 911 Carrera 4S, a Cayman, a 911 Carrera GTS and a 911 Turbo involved in everyday activities like shopping or picking up the kids from school. As a bonus, Porsche released a fifth fragment that didn't make it to the 30-second ad, called ‘Pet Carrier’. Take a look at the videos after the jump.

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Cayenne and Panamera Help Boost Porsche Sales by 86.4% Compared to Previous Quarter

Even in this harsh economical climate, Porsche sales continue to grow, as the German maker shifted 21,218 units in the first three months of the 2010 short fiscal year (August 1 – December 31). That's an impressive 86.4% growth compared to the same period last year, although Porsche management admits that the prior-year quarter was "relatively weak", so a higher growth rate was expected.

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GrandGT: TechArt Tunes Porsche's Panamera Turbo to 571HP

Joining the world premiere of the 2011 Cayenne-based Magnum at next month's Auto Zurich Car Show in Switzerland, will be yet another new tuning proposal from Porsche specialist TechArt, this time based on the Panamera sports saloon. Dubbed the GrandGT, the tuning firm's new customization program revamps the Panamera Turbo's exterior and interior styling, and performance.

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Porsche Sells more than 22,000 Panamera Sedans in its First Year of Production

Say what you want about the new Panamera, but the premium sports saloon is selling like beer at Oktoberfest. Within the first year of production, Porsche sold 22, 518 copies of the Panamera sports saloon globally, with 2,530 vehicles in Germany alone. While the Stuttgart-based automaker did not break down country-specific sales numbers, oddly enough, it released some data on city-specific sales.

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Porsche Adds New Performance and Styling Packages for Panamera Sports Saloon

With some 23,000 sales in the first year of production, the new Panamera is proving to be a major asset for Porsche in difficult times. Now, Stuttgart is looking to further enhance the appeal of its sports sedan with the introduction of new optional packages for the individualization programme including a Powerkit for the Turbo model, a Sport Design Package and new alloy wheels.

Available on the Panamera Turbo, the Powerkit package adds a recalibrated ECU and two new turbochargers with titanium-alloy turbine wheels. As a result, the V8 engine's output is lifted from 500HP to 540HP and torque from 700Nm to 750Nm (533 lb-ft). When combined with the Sport Chrono package, torque increases in the over-boost mode to 800Nm (590 lb-ft).

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APS Sportec Rolls Out Tuning Packages for Porsche Panamera Turbo

Few would call the new Porsche Panamera Turbo a slouch in the horsepower department, but if you happen to be one them, you may want to take a look at the new performance enhancement program from APS, the UK importer of the Swiss tuning firm Sportec.

Buyers can start off with the Stage One conversion that uses a reprogrammed ECU with optimized settings for fueling, ignition and turbo boost parameters to bump the V8's output from a quoted 493bhp and 516 lb-ft, to a dyno proven 560bhp at 6,150 rpm and 576 lb-ft (790 Nm) of torque at 3,340 rpm.

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