April and June debuts for V6 Panamera

Porsche will unveil the V6 entry-level variant of its Panamera four-door at April's Beijing Motor Show, with the car set to go onsale locally here in Oz just two months later (June).

Porsche launched its four-door flagship last June in V8 form only, now the company has provided the first tech details and images of the entry-level V6 variants. And the big news is the car gets a bespoke six-cylinder version of the company's V8, rather than a reengineered Volkswagen Audi Group powerplant.

Set to make their world debut at April's Beijing motor show, the Panamera and Panamera 4 (all-wheel drive) pack the new direct-injection 3.6-litre V6 which boasts outputs of 220kW and 400Nm -- almost exactly on par with the brand-new turbo BMW's 535i.

The 90-degree V6 is built at Porsche's engine plant in Zuffenhausen alongside the V8, but is 30kg lighter. This helps trim the entry-level Panamera's kerb weight to 1730kg (the Panamera S weighs 1770kg).

The PDK-equipped V6-powered Panamera is marginally more frugal than its V8 siblings, quaffing a modest 9.3L/100km on the combined cycle.

Porsche claims consumption can be further reduced (by 0.2 litres/100km), when the car is equipped with the optional 19-inch all-year tyres with optimised roll resistance.

Local Porsche chief Michael Winkler told the Carsales Network the car would go on sale in Australia in June. Though he would not confirm pricing, we believe it will hit the showroom floor at under $200,000.

Winkler says it's aimed at the likes of the larger selling BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class variants.

Local specification will be downgraded slightly in comparison to the V8-powered Panamera S. Though it will feature steel springs (rather than the S's air suspension), Porsche Cars Australia has included variable dampers and other key features within the standard equipment.

Porsche is yet to release performance figures for the V6 Panamera, but -- going on the power/torque outputs and kerb weight -- we'd estimate a 0-100km/h sprint of around 6.5 seconds and top-speed north of 250km/h.

It's set to be a busy year for Porsche Down Under. Winkler says sales are on the up and with an all-new Cayenne SUV due in late July, 911 Turbo and other niche models joining the overall line-up, he says the company is looking to a stronger performance in the second half of 2010.

"My target is to maintain the volumes [we sold] over the last 12 months. The reason I want to maintain and not increase is simply that given that we will have in our biggest selling model [Cayenne] a generational change this year, we're obviously going into a sell down phase. That's going to have an effect on what the overall numbers for the year will be.

"In that context, if we maintain the same [overall sales] figure as last year, I'd say we've done reasonably well. If we manage to do better than that, I'll take it..." Winkler said.

-- with staff

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