Porsche Panamera Cabrio In The Works

Look for a price cut of more than $15,000 compared with the original 2010 Porsche Panamera S, when Porsche launches its entry-level versions of the Panamera in the U.S. in June. The 2011 Panamera and the Panamera 4, downsized with a new 300-horsepower 3.6-liter V6, will make their world debut in April at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show.

Porsche said the base Panamera will start at $75,375, including a $975 destination charge. The Panamera 4 will start at $79,875. In comparison, the 400-hp 2010 Porsche Panamera S starts at $90,775, including shipping, and the top-of-the-line 500-hp Panamera Turbo starts at $133,575, including shipping.

Porsche said official U.S. EPA fuel economy figures on the V6 Panamera models will be announced closer to the on-sale date. However, Porsche's home office released European fuel economy numbers on Tuesday, noting that the base Panamera will return the equivalent of about 25 miles per gallon, while the Panamera 4 will return the equivalent of 24 mpg. Porsche U.S. spokesman Gary Fong told Inside Line in a phone conversation on Tuesday morning that "We just don't know [what U.S. fuel economy numbers will be]. It just doesn't translate [interpolating the New European Driving Cycle numbers]. They test in an entirely different manner than the EPA."

Porsche Panamera V6 Models Debut

Just as one team at Porsche was readying the most powerful production 911 ever—the 2011 911 Turbo S—another was creating the company’s least powerful sedan. Model year 2011 will bring two flavors of the long-foretold V-6 Panamera, a rear-wheel-drive model simply named Panamera and an all-wheel-drive version dubbed Panamera 4.

The V-6 in question is said to be an all-new Porsche design featuring direct injection, and is the same one that will be installed in the next Cayenne. It displaces 3.6 liters and produces 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, and Porsche claims it is 66 pounds lighter than the V-8 in the Panamera S. Like all U.S.-market Panameras, the V-6 is paired exclusively with a seven-speed PDK transmission and gets an engine stop/start system.

After their formal debut at the Beijing auto show, the Panamera and Panamera 4 will join the V-8–powered Panamera S, 4S, and Turbo in U.S. showrooms this June. Prices will start at $75,375 for the Panamera and $79,875 for the Panamera 4.