News PORS C H E A D D S N E W V 6 PA N A M E R A MODELS T O I T S G R A N T U R I S M O L I N E U P Porsche Cars North America has announced the addition of two new Panamera models, just three months after successfully launching the first fourdoor Gran Turismo in three V8 flavors: the Panamera S, the Panamera 4S and the Panamera Turbo. The Panamera and Panamera 4, the model line’s new entry level versions, will be in Porsche dealerships in June 2010. Both feature a brand-new 3.6-liter V6 with Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) developing 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. The Panamera transmits its power to the road via the rear wheels, while the Panamera 4 comes standard with active all-wheel drive. U.S. models will include Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK), Porsche’s new and revolutionary sevenspeed double-clutch gearbox, as standard equipment. The Panamera and Panamera 4 are examples of the Porsche Intelligent Performance development strategy. Equipped with the PDK gearbox and the Auto Start Stop function, Porsche expects these new models to be considerably more fuel efficient than their normally aspirated V8 siblings. Official U.S. EPA fuel economy
figures will be announced closer to the new models’ on-sale date, and both meet the strict EU5 emission standard in Europe and the LEV standard in the United States. And like all Panamera models, they are not subject to a gas-guzzler tax. Porsche has always focused on superior efficiency and performance, and in the
case of these new Panamera models these long-held tenets are not mutually exclusive. One example of this ideal combination of qualities is consistent lightweight construction with the axles, doors, hood, front fenders and tailgate all made of aluminum. Likewise, the brand new 90-degree angle V6 powerplant built
at Porsche’s engine plant in Zuffenhausen is approximately 66 lbs. lighter than the Porsche V8 in the Panamera S and 4S. This contributes to the low overall curb weight, which in the case of the Panamera with the PDK transmission is just 3,880 lbs. (1,730 kg). Like the proven V8 models, both the Panamera and the Panamera 4, as genuine Gran Turismos, combine a sporting character with a high standard of comfort and everyday driving qualities. Steel suspension with variable dampers is standard, and adaptive air suspension with additional air volume on demand is available as an option. This provides a wide range of suspension qualities and features, with a high level of motoring comfort on the one hand and extremely sporting driving dynamics on the other. Both models will be making their world debut at the Beijing Motor Show on April 23, 2010. The Panamera and Panamera 4 MSRPs are $74,400 and $78,900, respectively.
Source: Porsche Press Release
ACTION EXPRESS V8 PORSCHE-POWERED RILEY Winner of the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona
Mechanical problems, bad luck, and on-track incidents push Porsche 911 GT3 Cup teams off the top step of the Rolex GT podium; Broken driveshaft, engine ills ruin Brumos Porsche’s chance to repeat. Using a veteran driver line-up including Ryan Dalziel, Mike Rockenfeller, Joao Barbosa, and Terry Borcheller, and support from a veteran team, Brumos Racing, the Action Express Racing Porsche-powered Riley upset the pre-race favorites to win the 48th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The engine is a Porsche Cayenne-based V8 built as an independent project and mated to a Riley chassis. Pre-race favorites BMW Riley, Ford Riley, Ford Dallara, and last year’s winner, the Brumos Porsche Riley, all led the race at various times during the day and night, but mechanical gremlins
and miscues on the track derailed those efforts, and the Action Express team came away with the win. In the Rolex GT class, it looked like a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup victory was in the works once the leading Camaro broke overnight, but the leading TRG Porsches lost their advantage in the last four hours of the event. First, the #71 TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, with NASCAR star Bobby Labonte at the controls, ran out of fuel on the course and had to be towed into the infield, where the TRG crew met the car, gave it a dump-can of fuel, and got it back on the track. However, Labonte had to circle the track again, and then come in for a full fuel stop and driver change under green, and lost the three-lap lead the team had built in the GT class. Only seven minutes later, the new leaders #67 TRG Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Seth Neiman/Johannes van Overbeek/ Joerg Bergmeister/Patrick Long came into the pits with a broken front shock. The team replaced the shock, but it put them five laps back, and opened the door for the #70 Speedsource Mazda to take the lead – a lead they never relinquished. The #71 car, with Labonte, Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Spencer Pumpelly and Tim Geroge, Jr., later lost its clutch and ended
up ninth in class. The #67 car finished second, and third place went to the #66 TRG Porsche Ted Ballou, Kelly Collins, Wolf Henzler, Andy Lally, and Patrick Flanagan. The #59 Brumos Porsche Riley, although many laps down in eighth place, had an emotional moment at the end of the 19th hour as five-time Rolex 24 winner Hurley Haywood stepped out of the car for the last time as he had announced that he would retire after this race. “I would have liked to finish this with a win, but we gave it a good effort, and I am proud of our entire Brumos team,” said Haywood, who added that he thought about his retirement a little before his last stint, but once he was belted in and out of the pits, it was 100 percent racing. Source: Porsche Cars, NA
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