2017 Porsche Panamera 2 - The Design Story

The exterior character of the new Porsche Panamera has also been sharpened with the dawn of the second generation. It is based on very dynamic proportions. The new Panamera is 5,049 mm (+34 mm) long, 1,937 mm (+6 mm) wide and 1,423 mm (+5 mm) tall. Despite the slight increase in height, the four-door car looks much lower and longer. This is primarily due to the reduced height above the rear of the passenger compartment – reduced by 20 mm – while maintaining consistently good headroom. This changes the car’s overall image completely. The wheelbase has been increased by 30 mm to 2,950 mm; this too lengthens the car’s proportions. The front wheels were shifted further forward, reducing the front overhang and making the prestige dimension – the distance between the A-pillar and the front axle – even larger. The rear overhang is longer, giving the car a more powerful appearance.
The Panamera has only grown six millimetres in width, but it feels like several centimetres. This effect is created by such features as the A-shaped air intake, which extends out to the sides and creates a completely new front-end design. At the same time, a precisely designed crossbar in the radiator grille emphasises the car’s width. The arrow-shaped bonnet over the engine accelerates this visual effect further forward and lower than before – due to the prominently contoured powerdome, whose lines now reach into the bumper. The lower front end was enabled by the new compact construction of the engines in the vehicle concept. To the left and right of the powerdome, the bonnet blends precisely into the stronger flares of the front wings – a typical Porsche design trait. Also exuding confidence is the look of the LED headlights with their four-point LED daytime running lights, of which three versions are available.
The new side body – like the bonnet, boot, roof and wings – is made entirely of aluminium, and it accentuates the silhouette of a sports car more than ever thanks to its dynamic roof line. At the rear, this roof line becomes the charismatic Porsche flyline – the distinctive lines that adorn all of the brand’s coupés. Two precisely executed edges on the lateral roof line visually lower the silhouette’s centre of gravity. The look of the side windows has also been redesigned: its visually continuous surface, together with its lines on the rear body, creates a stylistic affinity to the Porsche 911. Three-dimensionality characterises the doors and wings, where incident light shining on their convex and concave surfaces generates muscular tension. Integral design components there are the air exhaust ports behind the front wheels. The flared lips of the wheel arches are also powerful. The large arches provide space for the 19-inch (4S/4S Diesel), 20-inch (Turbo) and optional 21-inch alloy wheels.
The fact that the Panamera is a four-door coupé and not a conventional saloon is clearer from the rear than from any other perspective. The ‘greenhouse’ – made up of the roof, roof pillars, window surfaces – is supported by a powerful and broad shoulder section. Clearly a Panamera, definitely a sports car. The most prominent components identifying the rear body are, without a doubt, the three-dimensional LED rear lights with integrated four-point brake lights. The rear lights are interconnected by a narrow LED strip. All of these elements together create an unmistakable night design. Integrated seamlessly and elegantly into the boot, which features electric opening and closing as standard, is the extendible rear spoiler that is now finished in body colour. On the Panamera Turbo, the wing also splits as it extends, thereby gaining additional surface area. Terminating the lower rear body is a diffuser into which the dual stainless steel tailpipes of the exhaust system are integrated on the left and right. The Panamera 4S and 4S Diesel can be recognised by their round tailpipes, while the Panamera Turbo has trapezoidal tailpipe trims.
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