Porsche Panamera Turbo
550 hp, 567 lb-ft Twin-Turbo V8, 8-speed PDK, all-wheel drive, 2.9s 0‑60, 190 MPH
Overall & Specs Cargo Dimensions
Adjust Center Vent Change Key Battery
Porsche Panamera Turbo Typ 971 in GT Silver. bigger or full-resolution.
2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo in GT silver and gloss black. Shot with Nikon Z7 and Nikon Z 24-200mm VR at 140mm at f/6.3 at 1/40 hand-held at Auto ISO 180 (LV 9.8), Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file.
2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo Typ 971 in GT Silver. bigger.
Panamera Turbo Type 971. bigger.
Black Leather, Gloss Black and Carbon Fiber Interior with Chalk (gray) Seat Belts. bigger.
What looks like leather is leather: dashboard, center console and doors, and the side pillars and headliner is soft Alcantera (suede).
The inside door pulls are solid alloy, as are the shift paddles.
Original Window Sticker. bigger.
Of course we have all the books and manuals and service records.
Die Königin der Nacht. bigger.
Der König der Nacht. bigger.
Porsche Panamera Turbo Interior at Night. bigger.
Panamera Turbo Dashboard, general driving. bigger.
Panamera Turbo Gas Mileage, Highway Driving. bigger.
I've checked the calibration, and these self-reported MPG readings are accurate, unlike many other cars which over-report their own MPG on their dashboard computers by about 10% to keep customers happier. Even our new 2022 Mercedes S580 reads 8.2% high, for instance, while our Panamera Turbo is right-on.
Always dealer serviced. bigger.
Just had 40,000 mile service with new tires and brakes. bigger.
4.0 L V8 Turbo, a work of sculpture. bigger.
Go ahead and take it downtown. bigger.
Panamera Turbo. bigger.
Black Interior. bigger.
Rear Buckets Seats with Carbon-Fiber Center Console and two more zones of Rear Air Conditioning. bigger.
Rear Center Panel Controls & Display. bigger.
2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo in GT silver and gloss black. Shot with Nikon Z7, Nikon SB-400 flash and Nikon Z 24-200mm VR at 75mm at f/6.3 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 64, -0.3 stops exposure compensation (LV 13.3), Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file.
PDLS+ Headlight. bigger.
April 2023 Car Reviews All Reviews
Overall top
Everyone knows that the Porsche Panamera Turbo is one of the fastest cars ever made. In fact, Porsche sandbags a little bit and specifies the Panamera Turbo as a bit slower than it actually is, as not to outdo many of the 911 models which are slower.
What we really love about actually owning our Panamera Turbo for everyday use is how smooth and silent it is. It's a refined automobile for adults who don't need to wake up the neighbors. Most of the time its 550 hp engine is completely inaudible; much quieter than the Rolls Royces I've driven where the salesman claimed the engine was silent — but wasn't. Not only is the powertrain mostly silent, the cabin is extremely well insulated so its cabin is as quiet or quieter than my Mercedes S-Klasse. My Panamera Turbo cabin measures only 59 dBA at 80 MPH on a good road while my S550 measures 60 dBA at only 60 MPH. Ha!
The "sport exhaust" cutout option lets the Panamera be noisier.
The PDK double-clutch transmission is magic. While everyone knows it shifts instantly, what makes it magic is that it’s so well programmed that you can’t feel it shift! It's like driving a Tesla; you can't hear or feel a thing as it shifts up and down.
It shifts into neutral and idles while coasting, and seamlessly revs back up when you tap the gas and it gets back in gear. The computer syncs engine revs with up and downshifts so it's all brilliantly seamless.
It will instantly downshift as many gears as needed to when you hit it, and for normal driving it's quiet and docile parking and maneuvering at slow speeds.
Ours has rear-wheel steering so it turns very tightly for parking.
Most Panameras have all-wheel drive, which is needed to deliver this much power to real-world roads. In the real world it's tough to use more then 300 hp per axle before you just start spinning your tires. With all wheel drive you can use this much more power without spinning your wheels all the time as you would be on rear-wheel drive cars, and because it's quiet, you don't attract attention when you step on it.
Even the windshield washers use three sets of three squirters, for a total of nine streams of washer fluid when you need it.
The Panamera Turbo is so much more than just fast; everything about it is well thought-out, well engineered and well executed. You have to own one to appreciate it all. The Panamera Turbo is just as much for long, comfortable trips with cavernous cargo capacity and 8 speeds, tall overdrives and great fuel economy as it is for zipping nimbly around town.
General
Porsche Typ. 971.
Four-door hatchback with folding rear seats.
Front-engine, all-wheel drive (the most basic 6-cylinder model only has rear wheel drive).
Ours seats four, with huge rear bucket seats for tall adults. More basic versions seat five, with three across a basic rear bench seat.
Made in GERMANY.
Engine
3,996 cc Bi-Turbo Quad-Cam V-8.
550 hp at 6,000 RPM.
567 lb-ft at 1,960 RPM.
Performance
2.9 seconds 0-60 MPH.
190 MPH top speed.
11.3 seconds at 122 MPH standing quarter mile.
8.35 pounds per horsepower (4,593 pounds/550 hp).
EPA 18/21/25 city/overall/highway MPG.
Dimensions
198.8″ long.
76.3″ wide.
56.2″ tall.
Weight
4,593 pounds (8.35 pounds per horsepower).
Tires
275/35ZR-21 front.
315/30ZR-21 rear.
Cargo Area Dimensions top
Great news: Just wave your foot behind the rear bumper and the hatch opens or closes when you have your hands full, assuming of course that the key is in your pocket.
All Seats Up
Porsche Panamera Turbo Cargo Area. bigger.
36″ wide at the floor, excluding the left and right netted side sections.
39″ deep.
24″ to 25.5″ high at the rear hatch pivot, tapering down to 12″ tall at the very back.
Rear Seats Folded Down
Porsche Panamera Turbo Cargo Area, Rear Seats Folded Down. bigger.
36″ wide at the floor, excluding the left and right netted side sections and extra width between the rear seats.
72″ deep with both seats folded forward.
If one seat is left up, they're split 21.5″ or 15″ wide, behind which the area is only 39″ deep.
24″ to 25.5″ tall from the back of the front seats going back 36″ to just behind the rear hatch pivot, then tapers down to 12″ tall at the very back.
User's Guides top
How to Change the Key Battery top
To change the battery, push out the metal emergency key with its molded plastic lip either with your thumb, or a rubberized blunt handle of a pair of pliers. Do not use a screwdriver because you'll mar the plastic!
1. Pull out the hard key. bigger.
2. Pull apart the two outer covers. bigger.
3.) Rotate the circular battery cover counterclockwise (just as it's marked) and swap the CR2032 cell. bigger.
Snap it back together and you're done!
It takes one CR2032 lithium cell. You can get them at the grocery store checkout for $10 each, or just order them from Amazon in advance for about $1 each so you'll have them when you need them. I think they last about 6 months each.
You may as well order from Amazon as you'll have them in a day or two, and you should have plenty of warning when you see LOW KEY BATTERY displayed on your dashboard to change it. No worries, if your key battery ever dies completely, pull out the mechanical key as shown below to open the door (pullout the handle to find the key slot), and them leave the dead key in the front cupholder to start the car. That's just me, I'd rather die than pay $10 at retail for a $1 cell.