2009 Porsche Panamera Technical Details Released

Whatever you call them - four-door coupes, GT saloons, touring sedans - the sleek-of-roof, quad-exit automobile is now a serious niche selling in serious numbers from some very serious automakers.

Stat-counters, get your pen and paper ready because the next round of 2009 Porsche Panamera pub trivia is all yours for the bragging if you but pay attention: Porsche has just released a swag of technical data about its new four door offering.

To begin with, the Panamera range will initially consist of three models: the rear-wheel-drive Panamera S, the all-wheel-drive Panamera 4S and the Panamera Turbo models.

The S and 4S share the same 4.8 litre V8 producing 294kW (394hp) at 6500prm and 500Nm (369lb-ft) at 3500rpm.

The turbo uses the same basic engine, but forced induction raises output to 368kW (493hp) at 6000rpm and 699Nm (516lb-ft) from as low as 2250rpm.

The requisite 0-100 times are achieved in 5.6 seconds for the S, 5.0 seconds for the 4S and 4.2 seconds for the Turbo.

The Panamera S tips the scales at 1770kg and while that isn’t particularly lithe, it is still 110kg lighter than the Maserati Quattroporte and 135kg lighter than a Mercedes CLS 63 AMG.

The Panamera’s smooth shape contributes to a 0.29 drag co-efficient, with a flat underbody to combat lift and a rear spoiler which extends from aft of the rear window to provide added downforce.

The manual-equipped S achieves 12.5 litres/100km (22.6mpg), the 4S fitted with Porsche’s seven-speed PDK dual-clutch gearbox and stop-start technology achieves a rather incredible 11.1 litres/100km (25.5mpg), while the Turbo - which also comes with the PDK box and stop-start - uses 12.2 litres/100km (23.2mpg).

So now that you know what you’ll get for your hard-earned, the only question Porsche has left unanswered for us Aussies is the actual cost.

While we do know that the range will kick off in September at £72,226 (AUD $154,415) in the UK, pricing and dates for Australia are yet to be officially set.