ATLANTA — Porsche is whetting the appetite of prospective 2010 Panamera customers with the release on Wednesday of more technological details about the car. A company spokesman also told Inside Line that the Panamera's car configurator will go live in late April, around the time the vehicle is introduced at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show.
"The car configurator will debut in April, although I don't have the specific date when it goes live," said Porsche spokesman Gary Fong. "It will be around the time of the public debut on April 19. That's the first step to ordering."
The four-passenger Panamera arrives in U.S. showrooms on October 17.
Porsche issued a statement on Wednesday detailing the high-tech features on the Panamera. But Fong said he does not yet have pricing information on them when they are not included as standard.
One such feature is what Porsche is describing as "the first automatic engine start/stop feature used with an automatically shifting double-clutch transmission." Such a system conserves fuel and reduces emissions by turning the engine off in certain situations, such as when the car is sitting at a stoplight. Fong said this feature will be standard on all models. EPA fuel economy numbers on the 2010 Panamera are not yet available.
Another technological detail about the Panamera is its adaptive air suspension, which is designed to provide extra air volume on demand. Porsche describes this as "an absolute innovation in automotive technology." It is standard on the top-of-the-line Panamera Turbo model and optional on the other models.
The Panamera Turbo also gets a multistage adjustable rear spoiler that deploys when needed.
Porsche said traction management with all-wheel drive will be standard on the Panamera 4S and the Panamera Turbo.
Fong was unable to say whether the aforementioned technological features will be available on the Panamera hybrid model. "I don't know," he said. "We have no details on the hybrid. We'll have to wait."
He noted that Porsche is targeting 25,000 units of the Panamera for global distribution in its first year of production.
The Panamera will be priced at $89,800 for the base Panamera S, $93,800 for the all-wheel-drive Panamera 4S and $132,600 for the Panamera Turbo. Fong said destination charges have not yet been set for the vehicle.
Inside Line says: Porsche wants its Panamera to be a rolling showcase of high-tech features, but we'll have to wait and see just how much some of them drive the price up. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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