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.

Revenue amounted to €2.06 billion (+80.3%), while the company's operating result reached €395 million for the same three month period.

The new Cayenne fared particularly well with 10,292 units sold (+151%), followed by the Panamera with 5,778 vehicles and a growth rate of 94%. The success of the 4-door coupe is due to the fact that last year it wasn't available on all markets and the six-cylinder model went on sale in May 2010. The 911's sales were also up, reaching 3,130 units (+20.4%), while the Boxster with 1,089 and Cayman with 929 vehicles remained the least coveted Porsches.

The Americas lead in terms of regional sales, up by 82% and totaling 7,268 units, of which 6,632 went to North America. Europe is close behind (7,082), while Asia and the rest of the world are third (6,868), albeit with the biggest growth rate (126%), fueled by the strong demand in China.

"We can be satisfied with the key indicators of the first three months. Porsche AG is continuing on a profitable growth course" said Matthias Müller, chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG.

"Due to the order intake worldwide in the past few months, we expect a good double-digit return on sales in the short fiscal year from August to December 2010. With this current order situation, we also anticipate a good start to the new fiscal year 2011" Lutz Meschke, member of Porsche AG's executive board in charge of finance and procurement, added.

Porsche's sales growth also helped create new jobs, with the company currently employing 13,043 people, a 2.5% increase over July 2010.

By Csaba Daradics

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.

Starting with the exterior dress up, the German tuner's wide bodykit provides a more aggressive appearance to the Panamera. It includes a modified front bumper housing integrated LED daytime running lights and a front splitter, a carbon fiber hood, side skirts, a fixed rear wing, a new rear bumper with additional air vents and a diffuser.

There are also new front and rear fenders, which increase the car's width by 21mm and 42mm on each side respectively, while the body colored headlamp trims, new exhaust tail pipes and a choice of alloy wheel designs in sizes 20-, 21- and 22-inches complete the exterior makeover.

For the interior, TechArt's program offers buyers a wide variety of customization options ranging from an entertainment package with two 7-inch screens that are integrated into the front seat backrests to a full leather treatment with decorative stitching in custom colors.

Under the hood, the TA 070/T1 powerkit lifts the 4.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8's output from 368 kW (493-hp) and 700 Nm to 426 kW (571-hp) and 830 Nm, while there's also a new sport exhaust system producing a throatier sound.

Details on pricing and availability will be announced at the unveiling of the car at the Auto Zurich Car Show.

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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.

In North America, which is traditionally Porsche's most significant sales market, the company sold 890 Panamera saloons in Los Angeles and 760 in New York. In Asia, 300 vehicles were delivered to Hong Kong this past year, while 223 examples made their way to Tokyo and another 188 to Shanghai. In other cities across the globe, Porsche sold 285 Panameras in Dubai, 203 in Moscow, 206 in Munich, 117 in Hamburg and 108 in Berlin.

"Our corporate strategy of value-oriented growth has proven itself to be a successful model: With the Panamera, Porsche has clearly positioned itself with the sportiest automobile in the high-end and luxury-class market and achieves already a 13 per-cent share of its segment today", said Bernhard Maier, Member of the Management Board for Sales and Marketing.

Currently, Porsche offers five variants of its sports saloon, including the Panamera and Panamera 4 with a 300HP V6, the Panamera S and Panamera 4S with a 400 HP V8, and the flagship Turbo model with a 500 HP V8.

Leading the charts with 9,394 vehicles delivered, is the Panamera 4S, followed by the Turbo (6,171 vehicles) and the Panamera S (4,563 vehicles). However, the six-cylinder Panamera, which was introduced into the market only a few weeks ago, is quickly catching up having already found 2,390 new owners.

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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).

Porsche says that in Sport Plus mode, the Panamera Turbo with the Powerkit accelerates from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 3.9 seconds, or 0.1 sec faster than the standard car, while top speed rises from 303km/h to 305 km/h (190mph). According to the company, fuel consumption remains the same as that of the 500HP model at 11.5 lt/100km (20.4mpg US).

Now for the bad news. Those 40 ponies and 50Nm of torque will cost buyers in Germany a hefty €16,695.7 (about US$21,400) including VAT. The package will be available as an option for new models in September and as a retrofit kit for existing cars from November this year.

Moving onto the Sport Design Package, which will be available on all Panamera models in October, it includes a unique body-colored front end with wider black air intake grilles, more sculpted side skirts and the standard, body-colored rear underbody apron with diffuser and fins. This option will set new car buyers back an extra €4,581.50 (US$5,880) in Germany. The side skirts will be available for existing cars for €969.85 (US$1,240).

Other options released by Porsche include a newly designed set of 20-inch Sport wheels (9.5" wide on the front axle, and 11.5" on the rear axle) available in a silver or black finish for €1,588.65 (US$2,038).

Panamera Becomes Porsche's Best-Selling Model in the USA

In April, Porsche's new four-door Panamera recorded its best-ever one-month with sales of 678 units becoming Porsche's best-selling model in the US for the very first time since its introduction in the market in October 2009. To date, Porsche has sold 3,410 Panamera saloons in the U.S.

Overall, Porsche sold 1,747 units from its current model lines to US customers in April, recording a six-percent fall on the same month last year.

In addition to the Panamera, Porsche sold 219 units of the Boxster (+28% compared to April 2009), 135 units of the Cayman (+3%), 389 units of the 911 (down 42% over April 2009), and the outgoing Cayenne that will be replaced by a new model in July, 326 vehicles (-63%).

Porsche Recalls Every Single Panamera...on the Planet

Porsche announced today that it will be recalling all of the Panameras it has sold to date due to a seatbelt issue. That's 11,324 cars.

The problem is that the front belts' mounts "could fail when the front seats are adjusted in an extreme forward position."

With a target of 20,000 worldwide Panamera sales, and the recent announcement of a 300-horsepower V6 model, I'm willing to bet this won't hurt the company's goal too badly.

So far no accidents or injuries have been reported.

By Phil Alex

Thanks for the tip Matt!

Via: News

VIDEO: Porsche Panamera Turbo Taxi is one Helluva of a Cab

Here's an interesting take on the German high speed taxi war - that's right, it DOES exist. According to the video, Auto Bild editor Jörg Maltzan is more than willing to play a role in taking the battle to the streets -if only for a short period- with a Porsche Panamera Turbo. If anyone can clarify with a proper translation, send it over to us in the comments section after the jump.

Either way, it looks like the 500-horsepower "Taxamera" Turbo has a message for BMW's M5 'Ring taxi: Bring it on. Now if it would only head over and pull some weekend duty for tourists at the Nürburgring, we'd have a real competition on our hands. Follow the jump for the video.

By Phil Alex

Source: Autobild, Via Motofilm

It's a Wrap: Techart Unveils Tasty Porsche Panamera Black Edition

In a lighter-than-usual take on the Porsche Panamera, German tuning house Techart has unveiled a surprisingly tasty cosmetic-only package for Stuttgart's new four-door sports saloon

Aptly named "Black Edition", Techart's Panamera proposal is wrapped in a matte black vinyl film.

It also comes with the company's Aerodynamic Kit I that includes side skirts, aprons, spoilers and daytime running lights, as well as with 22-inch alloy wheels in a black shade, new brake calipers and a sport exhaust system with four tail pipes.

Inside, Techart has upgraded the Panamera Black Edition's cabin with high-quality black leather combined with alcantara as well as hand-sewed decorative stitching and leather piping in flamenco red.

In addition, numerous interior components like trims, door entry guards, cup holder and the air vents are finished in a matte black design.