Panamera Turbo S

Porsche has unveiled the official details on the seventh model in the Panamera line-up. The new Turbo S is the most powerful version and, of course, the most expensive one as well. On the US market sales will begin later this spring with an MSRP of $173,200. The car will make its first appearance at the New York Auto Show on April 20th, 2011.

With the new Panamera Turbo S, Porsche has combined ultra high performance and efficiency, sports-car-like driving dynamics, and first-class comfort in just one car. Under the hood Porsche has placed a 4.8 liter, V8 biturbo engine that delivers an impressive 550 HP, a 50 HP improvement over the previous Turbo version. This is more than enough power to sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 190 mph. We get all of this while receiving a fuel economy of 23 mph (highway).

Throughout multiple Porsche lines, the Turbo S model has made an appearance and remains today as the range topping model. Some models are more inclined to find a buyer for an ultra-performance version, but other manufacturers have found success with the same formula. The Mercedes S-class has even more model variations than the Panamera, but even the ridiculously powerful S65 with a bi-turbo V12 has found plenty of takers. One of the biggest hurdles Porsche may face is the fact that the basic Panamera is less than beautiful and the Turbo S model is hard to distinguish.

Hit the jump to read more about the new Porsche Panamera Turbo S.

Customers will distinguish the new Turbo S over a standard Turbo model thanks to the addition of new 20-inch Turbo II wheels with increased rear axle track width, side skirts from the Porsche Exclusive range, and the adaptive extending four-way rear spoiler matching the exterior color. Those may be distinctions from other Panamera models, but not by much. An avid car fan should be able to make the distinction, but even then we’re not sure it looks like a $173,000 car.

On the interior, the model will get a bi-color leather finish, fitted as standard, with a black/cream offered exclusively for the new Panamera Turbo S. It is interesting that Porsche has not decided to update the seats or increase the bolstering at least slightly to help make this model stand out. When you consider the car a luxury sedan rather than a typical Porsche sports car than it makes sense to not change the one part of this car that no one has an issue with, which is the interior. On the other hand, when you try to turn your luxury sedan into an Autobahn burning beast, then maybe you should spice things up a little bit more than adding a “cream” color option.

The new model will also be equipped with Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC), an active roll stabilization system, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus) and speed-dependent Servotronic. There is also a Sport Chrono Package Turbo, which tunes the suspension and power unit, making them even sportier by pressing the additional "Sport Plus" button. This is like the “M” sport button in the last generation BMW M5. Intially the car does not deploy all its horsepower and torque to the rear wheels and waits for the driver to push this button before letting loose.