Porsche Panamera goes for a cool RM1 million and up...only in Malaysia.

If you have ever owned a Porsche 2-door coupe/cabriolet be it the 986/987 Boxster/Cayman or the iconic 911, you must have felt frustrated at some point in time that you cannot share your Porsche experience beyond your other-half, better-half or whatever, best friend/pal/associate and at best, plus two midgets at the back ‘seats’ of a 911.

Porsche AG seems to have an answer to this dilemma of generosity, for those who do not want a cumbersome and not-so-handsome vehicle of an SUV like the Cayenne. Enter: Porsche's four-seater Gran Tourismo, the Panamera, which made a grand entrance to Malaysia at its official launch at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, last Saturday evening.

The event was graced by His Excellency the German Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Gunter Gruber and the cars were launched by Dato' Mokhzani Mahathir, chairman of Jaseri Automotive Group, the official importer of Porsche in Malaysia.

As its first four-door sports sedan/coupe, the Panamera is Porsche's answer to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A8. Three variants are available, the Panamera S, 4S and Turbo - the first two are powered by a 400hp/ 500Nm capable 4.8-litre naturally aspirated V8 with the difference being RWD and AWD. As with the 911 sports car, the top of the range is the Panamera Turbo sporting a twin-turbo charged V8, 4.8-litre engine that produces 500hp/700Nm combo!

According to Mokhzani, the best thing about the Panamera is its impressive lo fuel consumption, with claim figures of 10.8L per 100km for the S, 11.1L per 100km for the 4S and 12.1L per 100km for the Turbo. "This is achieved through technology and lightweight construction of the body such as the axles, bonnet, wings, doors and tailgate that are made of aluminium, the window frames and cylinder head cover from magnesium, among others. This saves on weight, and therefore fuel," he said.

The Panamera as with other Porsches, is highly customable: available in eight interior decor styles, six interior colours and four two-tone finishes in several leather variants.
The Panamera S retails from RM998, 000 (manual transmission), while the 4S is from RM1,118,000. The top-of-the-range Panamera Turbo will start from RM1,398,000. For more information, visit www.porsche.com, or visit your nearest Porsche Centre (Glenmarie in Shah Alam, KL City Centre or Penang).