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.
