2010 Porsche Panamera

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 400hp in naturally aspirated for, and 500hp 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 500hp at 6000rpm, and 516lb-ft of torque between 2250rpm and 4000rpm. 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.

PDK TRANSMISSION

The Panamera is the first luxury sedan to offer a dual-clutch manual transmission. The seven speed unit, a variation of the PDK transmissions used in the 911 and Cayman sports cars, will be standard on all U.S. market Panameras (the base Panamera S comes with a conventional six speed stick in Europe). Fifth is a direct ratio, and sixth and seventh are overdrives. At 100 mph in seventh the naturally aspirated V-8 in the Panamera S and 4S is turning just 2500 rpm, while the Turbo’s V-8 is turning 2250 rpm. The difference is the Turbo’s taller final drive ratio — 3.154 versus 3.545 — which also helps it to a higher top speed — 188 mph versus 175 mph. Launch control is available with the optional Sport Chrono Package, which cuts the 0-60 mph times by two-tenths of a second (on the Turbo, the Sport Chrono Package has an overboost function that momentarily increases torque to 567 lb-ft between 3000 rpm and 4000 rpm). Activated via the Sport Plus button on the center console, the Sport Chrono Package also changes the PDK’s shift protocols, altering change points and shift speeds in automatic mode, and shift speeds when in manual mode. Obscure fact to help you win bar bets: With the conventional six speed manual transmission, the Panamera S is two-tenths of a second slower to 60mph than a PDK equipped model, but is 2mph faster overall, with a top speed of 177 mph.

ALL-WHEEL DRIVE

All-wheel drive is standard on both the Panamera 4S and the Turbo. Using a clever “hang-on” module at the rear of the transmission, drive is transmitted to the front axle via double chamfered helical gears

and a hollow drive shaft angled at 11 degrees to the right of the vehicle center line. The electronically controlled multi-plate clutch integrated in the transmission varies the amount of torque fed to the front differential. The differential itself is bolted to the right hand side of the engine. The left hand drive shaft goes right through the block, and is supported by a bearing mount bolted to the left side. This ingenious arrangement has allowed Porsche engineers to mount the V-8 engine as low as possible to help handling.

FRONT SUSPENSION

The front suspension features aluminum double wishbones bolted to an aluminum subframe. Steering is by way of a variable ratio rack and pinion unit; a Servotronic unit which delivers speed-related power assistance is available as an option. The layout shown here is for the Panamera Turbo, which comes standard with Porsche’s new air suspension. The four air springs have an overall volume of 2.2 liters, which is reduced to 1.1 liters in sport mode via the closing of internal air valves. All Panameras come standard with Porsche’s PASM variable shocks; with the air suspension, the shocks’ compression rate is actually made more progressive. The air suspension system also allows the driver to adjust the Panamera’s ride height, raising the car 0.8 in. from standard ride height at speeds up to 20 mph to help negotiate ramps, and lowering it 1 in. when the Sport Plus button is pressed. Standard front brakes are iron — 14.2-in. grooved and vented rotors on the naturally aspirated cars, and 15.4-in. units on the Turbo, both with aluminum monobloc six piston calipers. Porsche’s ceramic composite brakes are available as an option. The cross drilled front rotors are 15.4-in. in diameter on the naturally aspirated cars (19-in. wheels are required) and 16.2-in. on the Turbo, which must be fitted with 20-in. wheels.

REAR SUSPENSION

The rear suspension is an aluminum multi-link design anchored by another meaty aluminum subframe. The electronically controlled locking rear differential helps ensure maximum traction. Porsche’s optional Dynamic Chassis Control system (PDCC) incorporates active roll bars front and rear. Oil pressure in hydraulic swivel motors can be controlled the vary the effective roll stiffness. During fast cornering the system virtually eliminates body roll, yet on straight roads the bars can be effectively decoupled to reduce side-to-side pitching over uneven surfaces. Standard rear brakes are 13.0-in. in diameter on the Panamera S and 4S, and 13.8-in. on the Turbo. The PCCB ceramic composite rotors are 13.8-in. for all cars. The PCCB brakes are 50 percent lighter than the standard iron units, and extremely fade resistant under extreme driving conditions.

AERODYNAMICS

Careful attention to aerodynamics, including the development of a flat undertray extending almost the entire length and width of the car, means the Panamera has a drag co-efficient of just 0.29 (S and 4S) and 0.30 (Turbo). All cars feature a rear spoiler just beneath the rear screen that rises into position at 56mph, and varies its angle of attack to the air flow according to vehicle speed. The Panamera S and 4S feature a single element spoiler that starts at -3 degrees to horizontal at 56 mph to further reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency, then adjusts to +5 degrees at 100 mph and +14 degrees at 127 mph to reduce lift and improve high speed stability. The clever multi-element spoiler of the Turbo (shown here) occupies the same real estate under the rear window whilst stowed, but once deployed two vanes automatically extend out over the rear fenders. The Turbo spoiler stays at -3 degrees to horizontal until 127 mph, then switches to +10 degrees. Porsche claims the spoiler actually produces downforce on the rear axle at high speed, a first for a large luxury sedan.

source: motortrend