porsche panamera sport turismo Archives

Putting the Sport in Touring: Porsche Panamera 4 Sport Turismo Driven!

“What does Sport Turismo mean,” asked my father when I told him I was going to be driving the new Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo during the Porsche Drive of The Year.

I thought about it for a few seconds, and being unable to find a better way of explaining it, I just said:

“It is another fancy word for hatch back or estate, Dad, but it pretty much means the same thing – a car with a sweeping roof line”.

Or is it?

After driving it for an entire week around Peninsular Malaysia, I realized that the Panamera Sport Turismo is anything but, despite the sweeping roof line.

Before the days of SUVs, hatch backs and estates were the go to vehicles for convenience this side of a van, to store whatever it is you couldn’t store in a regular booth.

And many Sport Turismo articles have been written with references to the “shooting-brake” body style.

But how you could you explain the Sport Turismo concept without mentioning the shooting-brake, just look at the Ferrari 365 GTB Daytona Shooting Brake. This is about where it all started for the Shooting Brake themed sports cars.

But quick search on wikipedia will tell you that the shooting-brake was originally “horse-drawn wagons used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game”.

Today though, the basic idea remains the same – to carry a lot of stuff – except the game now is replaced with the space necessary for family.

However, that still does not explain why Porsche prefers to call it Sport Turismo rather than the Panamera Shooting-Brake.

Lets first go back to the Grand Turismo, a type of car, initially a coupe, that was the perfect mix of luxury, a massive powerful engine, and the ability to traverse continents without the passenger knowing it.

The term then got twisted to prefer marketing departments of different manufacturers and that is how we arrived at the Sport Turismo, cousin of the Grand Turismo, cousin of the Grand Tourer, sometimes simply known as the GT.

The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo is the cooler, sleeker, roomier and supposedly more convenient cousin to the Panamera sedan.

But to be totally, completely, to the point. It is not thaaaat much roomier than the sedan, in fact, from some points, the sedan is a better car. The Sport Turismo is actually 65kg heavier because of the additional body work around the c-pillar.

But what it is however is a cooler car, it has a lot more road presence simply because of its peculiar looks.

And the fact that it is a massive car, almost ten feet long and six and a half feet wide.

It may be a bulbous car though, but it has some very clever electronics that make its hefty size feel like a hot hatch.

At the heart of the car is a 3.0-litre, six-cylinder twin-turbocharg engine with 330hp and 450Nm of torque.

Arguably that is not a lot of power for a car that costs close to RM1 million, considering that a Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG makes 380hp, but I know that’s like comparing a “spruce goose” to an F-15. Just saying that it doesn’t make that much power.

But it still entertained everyone who drove it.

Driving the Sport Turismo is an experience by itself, one that is not much different from the sedan or the Cayenne.

The dashboard is as wide as the car and the centre console is takes up most of the space with the gear knob and touch-screen switches in the form of a black touch pad.

Confession – I still prefer the buttoned switches of the previous-generation Panamera.

But what I really appreciate about the interior of the car though is it’s:

A) Superb build quality.
B) A beautiful high resolution 12-inch touchscreen display.
C) Rear passenger leg room and amenities.

The Sport Turismo, like its cousin, sits four, but Porsche realized that sometimes family folks, instead of business moguls, buy the ST, so now offer a conventional 4+1 seating concept as standard.

If you’re a business mogul who prefers the four-seater, you just have to tock the box on the options list where it says “individual rear power seats”.

Anyway, back to what makes the ST feel like a hot-hatch. Technology and smart electronic systems.

The size of the car is managed by Porsche’s rear-axle steering system that moves the rear wheels in opposite direction to the front wheels at low speeds – giving the car surprisingly manageable in tight parking lots – and then moves the front and rear wheels in the same direction during high-speed maneuvering, aiding agility and “flickability”. About a year and a half ago, we were given the opportunity to take a ride in the ST around Sepang with Le Mans Earl Bamber behind the wheel, you can imagine what ensued, and that’s where the photo above is from.

But there are other Porsche systems that bring the car to life on tight trunk roads, like the Porsche Active Suspension Management, Dynamic Chassis Control Sport, and a unique air suspension with three-chamber technology.

Managing everything in an onboard computer that calculates the car’s pitch, roll and yaw, calculates the data quicker than u can think and immediately preps the car, giving the driver maximum control at all times.

In the mountains around the Belum Rainforest Reserve in Pahang, the tight winding roads put the ST’s computers to the test.

The rear-axle steering hid the bulk while the electronic suspension kept the car’s body roll in check.

The car didn’t exactly handle as if it were on rails, but considering its size and weight, it handled beautifully.

Better than the Cayenne too, but the ST is low and wide, better handling than the Cayenne is to be expected.

But underneath it all, it was the electronic gremlins doing their thing. The Porsche Active Suspension Management working overtime to reduce body movement and interior comfort.

There is no way a car like the ST is able to accelerate and brake, turn on a dime and catapult out of a corner if it were not for advanced technologies underneath that metal work.

But inside it remains serene, even the sport exhausts have an elegant bellow, high-pitched at the fun end of the rpm meter, and low rumbles at the not so fun side.

You can customise the car according to how you want it, everything from the colour of the stitching to the colour of the rims.

The car we drove during DOTY costs a cool RM1.2 million. It of course came with all the feel-good, look-good, go-fast options.

Our favorite part about the car we spend a week with? The sport chrono package, sport exhaust, 21 inch wheels, and eight-way power rear seats.

The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo is not here to make up for the standard Panamera lacks, it is here to make an already capable car all the better and is for those who want the space but not an SUV.

A week with the new Porsche Cayenne

“Would you like to join us on a week long drive around Peninsular Malaysia? You get to drive the new Cayenne and Panamera Sport Turismo. Aaand you get to hang out with other models like the GT2RS and GT3RS,” said the voice over the phone.

“Of course I would,” was my immediate answer, trying to sound as cool and collected as one possibly could.

Called the Porsche Drive of the Year, the event was organised by the Porsche Club of Malaysia as part of the 70 plus annual events which it organises each year (click here to read the story on the drive).

About 40 Porsches took part in the drive, including some from the Porsche Club of Singapore.

As with most club drives, we met on a Sunday morning at the Porsche Centre in Sungai Best.

It was quite a sight to see Porsches of all sorts, old and new, hardcore performance machines and classic cars as well.

We began the 2200km journey in the new Cayenne – the third generation model of a super successful car. Sleeker, smarter, faster, and generally much better than before, the Cayenne proved to be the perfect partner for such a journey. And for obvious reasons too.

The Cayenne has dual personalities – it can be often sighted on luxury boulevards and in the parking lots of some of the world’s wealthiest people. But on the flip side, it is also often sighted plying muddy roads as they transport timber tycoons to their destinations.

However, you don’t spot a Cayenne on a racetrack very often, but being a Porsche, it is quite capable of holding its own on any track anywhere. Porsche has equipped the Cayenne with all the wizardry needed to move a two tonne giant as quickly as possible with as little drama as possible.

And that same wizardry has been applied to provide you with a beautiful ride as well – soft and plush or rigid and responsive – all at the push of a button. This was perfect for the duration of the ride since we were driving mostly on badly patched trunk roads.

Called the Porsche Active Suspension Management, and judging by the state of our roads these days this technology is almost a must have in today’s cars. And even though it is an option in Porsche vehicles worldwide, it is offered as standard in the Malaysian spec Cayenne as part of the Porsche Premium Package offered on both the Cayenne and the Panamera Sport Turismo.

Handling is of course accurate when you want it, and dull and relaxed when you want it as well. All that the simple push of a button of course. But this is not contributed by the suspension alone, but also because the Cayenne we drove came equipped with the now infamous rear-axle steering system. This makes short work of making tight u-turns, and gives the car a level of handling other SUVs can’t match.

The system was first introduced back in 2016 and is fitted as standard on the GT3 and as an option on all other models. It will set you back by RM9,522, but if accurate handling is your thing, then it will be worth every ringgit.

So the Cayenne proved to the perfect steed for the drive. There were moments where we saw the GT2RS and GT3RS quite literally hopping and skipping over the uneven roads while the Cayenne simply glided over them. Absorbing and transferring every imperfection away from the cabin.

The Cayenne we drove was the base model, and costs RM894,683 with close to RM100,000 worth of options fitted. But the car is already impressive as it is.

The cabin is high-tech with touch activated everything on a piano black finished centre console. The piano black centre panel is something I personally cannot appreciate as I have sweaty palms. So after a day of driving, the controls were ruined by the smudges of my finger prints.

But that is made up for by a luxurious comfortable interior with ventilated seats, a four-zone air-conditioning system that lets each occupant control their own temperature setting, and a super crisp Bose surround sound system. As far as the drive is concerned, I believe the Cayenne was the best car to be in.

Of course, the faster 911s and GT cars were way ahead of us by at least an hour. But those cars were meant to be driven fast and tackle corners as if they were on rails. But we were not doing too bad ourselves.

The Cayenne is powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine, which may not seem like much, but it produces 340hp and 450Nm of torque. And even though the Cayenne is heavy, the engine is able to help it accelerate to 100km/h in just 6.2 seconds (5.9 if you opt for the sport chronology package) and maxes out at 245km/h.

This was good to ensure that the Caymans and the Boxsters were always within sight.

Ever since it was introduced in 2002, the Cayenne has been regarded as one of the best, if not the best SUV in the business. This is because of its versatility on and off-road and how it balances that with luxury and performance. And now even the base Cayenne is amazing already.

Next week, we will tell you about the other car we drove, the Panamera Sport Turismo. It too has four-doors though it may not be as practical as the Cayenne, but it definately performs better. We will tell you more next week!

Porsche Premium Package – What is it?

According to Christopher Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Sime Darby Auto Performance (official dealer and distributor of Porsche cars in Malaysia), it is an initiative to enrich the product substance to elevate a customer’s ownership experience even further. It offers additional comfort and luxury features that include 14-way power seats including memory function for both driver and front passenger, four-zone automatic climate control, automatic dimming mirrors, electrical sun blinds, ambient lighting, and BOSE Surround Sound System.

Porsche Drive of the Year 2019: A week of hardcore driving

The first Porsche I ever laid eyes on was a black 964 around the hills of Bangsar. I was probably about four years old; I don’t remember much else except that it completely took my breath away and that it was love at first sight.

Since then, the 911 has been the ultimate everyday supercar for me. A Porsche fan boy, you can imagine what was running through my head when I got a phone call asking if I would like to join the Porsche Club Malaysia for a week long drive around Malaysia. It was going to be a 2200km and I could drive the Cayenne and the Panamera Sport Turismo and mingle with people who buy the GT2RS, GT3RS and the Turbo. And sometimes, that one person would have all three models in his garage.

Naturally I would have preferred a 911 for the road trip, but I was not about to say no, and so I had a few days to prepare for a week of driving.

It has been about 10 years since I last joined the Porsche Club Malaysia for a drive. The last one was a road trip to Rompin for a spot of charity and drag racing on a landing strip. This time however, it was an entirely different trip.

Called the Drive of the Year 2019, PCM Malaysia and PCM Singapore put in a joint effort to organise its first major drive of the year with fuel provided by Shell V-Power Racing. Beginning at the Porsche Centre in Sungai Besi and ending at Puteri Harbour on the first day, the convoy of about 40 Porsches of all models then headed to Tanjung Jara in Terengganu, followed by Belum in Perak, onto Penang Island via Kuala Perlis and back to KL from there.

Some of our rest stops were quite unique, and even included a stop over at the hugely popular RWB Museum in Johor. RWB – Rauh-Welt Begriff – the Japanese customiser who specialises in turning beautiful 964s into wider, lower, and depending on who you ask and dare I say it, rather handsome interpretation of the donor Porsche.

And when we weren’t eating at popular restaurant’s sometimes frequented by royalty, we were turbo-ing down the coastal roads of our country at speeds best kept secret.

We were in the new Cayenne and the Sport Turismo though, so we really were in the most comfortable cars in the convoy. But far from being the most underpowered or slowest with both cars offering 330hp and eye watering acceleration, I really wouldn’t say that keeping up was all that tough. Though the lead group would often reach the destination a good 45 minutes to an hour ahead of us. But driving both cars on highways and by-ways was an experience I won’t soon forget.

Why?

Imagine cars weighing about two tons barrelling down the “kampung” roads with badly patched roads throwing the balance of the car all over the place. The onboard sensors looking out for any obstacle or any dangerous situation that may arise, immediately alerting you to a potentially dangerous situation. And if you do not react fast enough, the Cayenne and Sport Turismo would even apply the brakes for you. But it never got to that, of course ; )

Such bad roads put the suspension to the ultimate test – will the car glide, or will it hop and skip all over the place? The suspension in both the Panamera and the Sport Turismo is of course adjustable. In Sport and Sport Plus mode, selected via a knob on the steering wheel the same size as a old 20 cent coin, the suspension stiffens up, giving you more control of the car, but also shakes things up to a noticeable level in the cockpit as it transfers all the irregularities on the road directly to you instead of soaking it up, which is what it does in normal mode.

Back to the drive.

Tagging along with a group of hardcore Porsche enthusiasts for an entire week is one of those experiences that will stick with you for a while, up there with skydiving even. The cars are almost always the topic of conversation, besides the logistics and itinerary of the drive that is, and in club drives like this it is awesome to mingle with car enthusiasts who are as humble and down to earth as your best friend. Just don’t ask to take the GT2RS out for a drive though.

Why the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo is the new king of wagons!

There’s not much to say about the Porsche Panamera which has not been said already. The world knows of its capability and opulence by now. But did you know that it’s name is short for Panamericana? And that it is named after a popular 1950s endurance race that lasted up to six days in Mexico called the Carrera Panamericana in which Porsche was successful in.

And that the world actually got a first glimpse of a four-door Porsche back in 1988, though it was called the 989 back then instead of Panamera (shown below).

Porsche actually spent three years developing the 989, until a halt work order came in at the end of 1991. The fact that a four-door Porsche like the 989, Panamera and the Cayenne infuriated Porsche purists is well documented so we will not repeat that story here, but the four-door models sold well and Porsche kept the purists happy by producing some mega wild cars like the Carrera GT, GT3 RS and the GT2 RS, all of which stood true to Porsche’s roots.

So the company found a way to make money without losing its core values. Some purists even softened up to the four-doors models when it became clear that the Panamera is Porsche’s answer to those who want a performance car with four-door practicality. Simply put, it had the performance of a true to word Porsche and the practicality of a proper sedan.

But the Panamera has been awkwardly limited as far as practicality goes. Instead, it has focused on being a luxury performance car for four people, or even a car to be chauffeured in. It is for the man who knows and loves his cars, but not attacking corners, he prefers to take the back seat in a car made by arguably the world’s best car maker. The Panamera offered all of that.

So, enter the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo – a Panamera that offers performance that rivals modern sports cars and yet also has the style, character and dare we say it, even the practicality of a sports wagon. And for very long the Audi RS6 was the king of that domain, but there’s a new contender for the title of world’s most practical performance car.

Some even suggest that the Sport Turismo is a better Panamera than the Panamera itself. Perhaps because it offers everything the Panamera does, but adds a huge amount of space, lots of style, and retains the Panamera’s touch of luxury and class. Its versatile; you can choose to drive the car, be driven in it, or pack your entire family in it for a long getaway.

Sime Darby Auto Performance, the company in charge of Porsche in Malaysia, may have just officially introduced the car recently, but a small group of journalists were allowed some time behind the wheel of a Sport Turismo Turbo for a blast around the Sepang International Circuit.

The Sport Turismo Turbo is a big, heavy car, so as far as dynamics go it really shouldn’t do very well on a specialised circuit like Sepang. But hey, we live in an era where we are sending robots to explore mars, so it really shouldn’t be very difficult to make a big, heavy car feel as agile as a ballerina on track. And that is exactly what the Sport Turismo Turbo does quite well.

We witnessed for ourselves as the Sport Turismo Turbo hunted down a lightweight Porsche and passed it as if it were standing still. We may have had two-time Le Mans winner Earl Bamber driving the Turbo, but the other Porsche had a half a circuit’s length head start. Not sure who was driving it though.

To be fair, the Sport Turismo Turbo has some trick electronics and a 4.0-litre V8 engine producing 550hp and 700Nm of torque; a true masterpiece of an engine. But that said, this is also the same car in which you can pack the family into and go on a long drive to Phuket. No seriously, you can, with space for the dog too.

Unlike the standard Panamera, the Sport Turismo actually comes with five functional seats and seat belts. But for those who prefer taking life easy in the back seat, the Sport Turismo can also be had with two electric seats at the back. So it can either be a car for captains of industry, or it can be a car for the family. Either way it is brilliant at what it does.

Earl Bamber was at the Sepang Circuit testing his own GT3 Cup Car in which he races in the Carrera Cup race series. He then took some of us for a ride in the Sport Turismo, and though we were allowed to drive the car for a few laps, it was in his hands features like the Rear Axle Steering could truly be felt as his aggressive driving style truly worked the systems. At turn three of the circuit for example, a fast right hander where the car can carry speeds of over 200km/h, the rear felt as if it were on rails. It felt as if it was shadowing the front end instead of trailing behind it, planted.

Of course the rear axle steering system, a feature that turns the rear wheels in the same angle as the front during high speeds, couldn’t have done it by itself. There’s also the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control that manages the body roll of the car in corners as well as the Porsche Traction Management which is an active all-wheel-drive system that sends and cuts power in individual wheels to help maintain maximum grip at all times.

Besides that the car has other neat tricks as well like an adaptive roof-mounted rear spoiler (above). The spoiler works in three stages depending on the driving situation and vehicle setting. It is a central component in the Porsche Active Aerodynamics, and when it stays in a retracted position of minus seven degrees it helps to reduce drag thus optimising fuel consumption. On track and at high speed, the spoiler moves to the performance position with an angle of plus one degree, this helps to increase stability. It also helps to lower the noise in the cabin when the sliding panoramic roof is open. It does this by inclining to a position of plus 26 degrees, keeping the wind noise away from the cabin.

When a car offers plenty of space for occupants and their luggage, we usually call it a practical car. And if a practical car is also incredibly powerful yet agile at the same time, well that’s what we would usually call a once-in-a-lifetime type of car. And if there was one car which we could drive for the rest of our lives, one car that seemingly had it all and more, well, then it would be the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo. Except that it costs RM1.95 million with taxes but before options.

Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Debuts in Malaysia – Prices Starting From RM990,000

The Porsche Panamera is not new to Malaysia, we see hundreds of them on our roads, and it is near impossible to go about your business in KL without coming across a Panamera, new or old. But the Panamera Sport Turismo is something else and completely new to our market.

Officially unveiled for the local market by Sime Darby Auto Performance, the custodian of the Porsche brand in Malaysia, two variants were introduced – the Panamera 4 Sport Turismo and the Panamera 4E – Hybrid Sport Turismo.

At first glance there is no mistaking the car for anything else but a Panamera, but move towards the rear of the car and the difference is obvious. The Sport Turismo is basically an estate, or hatchback version of the Panamera, but retains, in fact it improves on the practicality aspect of which the Panamera couldn’t really offer in its entirety.

The large tailgate, longer rear doors, increased storage capacity and even a 4+1 seating arrangement is all unique to the Sport Turismo, giving the Sport Turismo added practicality over the standard Panamera. And while the Panamera was a strict four-seater, the Sport Turismo on the other hand is able to seat five people, but there is also an option for four electronically adjustable seats if you so wish.

So what’s the difference between the Sport Turismo and the standard Panamera? Plenty actually, but it all begins aft of the rear doors. As mentioned, the rear doors are longer as is the roof line. The roof line then drops away less dramatically than the Panamera, to give the car the distinguished “shooting brake” design.

There is a roof mounted spoiler at the rear, and this works in three stages depending on the driving situation and the vehicle settings. At speeds of up to 170km/h, the spoiler retracts at an angle of minus seven degrees, this is to reduce overall drag co-efficiency and also to aid with fuel efficiency. In full flight mode of above 170km/h, the spoiler positions itself to an angle of plus one degree. At this angle the spoiler increases aerodynamic efficiency, keeping the car planted to the road thus maximising grip. But in Sport and Sport Plus mode, the spoiler automatically moves to the performance position at speeds above 90km/h. It also works as an air brake in case of emergency braking, and more interestingly, it can also help minimise wind noise when the sliding roof is open at speeds of 90km/h.

Besides that, the booth is much bigger than the Panamera, and because it has a lower rear end, picking up and placing heavy items is not as troublesome. The storage space measures in at 425-litres for the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo and 520-litres for the Sport Turismo. This is 20 litres more than the standard Panamera. When all of the backrests are folded down, the floor is virtually flat, and increases storage to 1,295 litres for the 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo, and 1,390 litres for the Panamera 4 Sport Turismo.

On the performance front, the range of Panamera Sport Turismo’s are powered by V6 engines. The entry-level Panamera 4 Sport Turismo is powered by a 3.0-litre, turbocharged V6 engine producing 330hp and 450Nm of torque. It has a top speed of 259km/h and accelerates to 100km/h in just 5.5 seconds. But opt for the Sport Chrono package with Launch Control and the figure drops to 5.3 seconds.

The Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo is powered by a 2.9-litre, turbocharged V6 engine coupled to electric motors that offers a combined output of 462hp and 700Nm of torque. It has a top speed of 275km/h and sprints to 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds.

And the top of the range Turbo model is powered by a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 engine producing an eye watering 550hp and 770Nm of torque. It has a top speed of 304km/h and sees off the century sprint in 3.8 seconds, or 3.6 seconds with the Sport Chrono package.

The base price for the Panamera 4 Sport Turismo starts from RM990,000 while the E-hybrid model costs RM1,125,000 before options. For the top of the line Turbo variant, the base price starts from RM1,940,000 before options.

All Porsche cars sold by SDAP come with a four-year warranty and a free maintenance package that includes complimentary service, parts and labour.

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