Panamera in Customers’ Hands

LEIPZIG, Germany – Porsche AG’s first six Panamera buyers have taken delivery of the auto maker’s breakthrough supercar.

The customers, all from Germany, on Monday picked up their prizes here, production site of the Panamera 4-seat supercar and the Porsche Cayenne cross/utility vehicle.

Porsche expects Volkswagen AG will benefit from synergies associated with the Panamera, such as platform-sharing, an informed source tells Ward’s.

The Panamera 4-door sedan, which competes with vehicles such as the Maserati Quattroporte, is based on a unique platform. And while Porsche and VW already share platforms – as is the case with the Cayenne, VW Touareg and Audi Q7 – such arrangements could become more common once VW closes a E3.3 billion ($4.8 billion) deal to acquire a 42% stake in Porsche.

Media reports say Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche expects the complex agreement, which also calls for the Gulf State of Qatar to claim a share of the legendary sports car maker, will become final by 2011.

The Panamera starts here at E95,000 ($138,867) and is scheduled to arrive next month in the U.S. where it will base at $93,000.

The car will be available in three models, each featuring a V-8 engine. The Panamera S and 4S offer 400-hp output, while the Turbo edition generates 500 hp.

Porsche Panamera to get V-6, hybrid powertrains next year.

Hybrid and V-6 models will launch next year, Ward’s is told. A Cayenne hybrid will debut early next year.

Production, made possible here by an expansion that quadrupled the plant’s size to 861,113 sq.-ft. (80,000 sq.-m), is set at less than 200 units per day – divided almost equally between Cayenne and Panamera output – but its capacity is 250 vehicles per day.

Wolfsburg-based Schnellecke Group provides line support so specialized Porsche assemblers can focus on production. Workstation cycle times range from four to six minutes.

A key element of the expansion is an indoor test facility to simulate turbulent weather.

In stark contrast to the site’s high-tech capabilities, grazing cows manicure green spaces around an outdoor test track.

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