Are you wondering why Porsche keeps calling the brand-new Panamera “the fastest luxury sedan on earth”? Well, here’s why.
Nowadays, it seems like the norm requires every performance vehicle to go through a 21 km trial of asphalt and speed at the Nurburgring, in order to prove its might; whether it’s a four-door sedan (in this case), a pure-bred supercar, or a mix between the two.
The Panamera may look a bit unassuming compared to pure two-door sports cars, but its restrained looks hide lightning-fast performance, as Porsche clocked the 550PS / 542hp and 770Nm / 568 lb-ft 4.0-liter V8 Panamera Turbo around Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 38 seconds. That’s as fast as a Lexus LF-A, Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera, and Porsche 997 911 Turbo, and in a different league when compared to other four-door saloons.
There isn’t even a point to pit it against the next sedan on the list (which is the current-gen BMW M5 with a time of 7 minutes and 55 seconds) because between them there’s a big list of high-performance vehicles, which includes the 997 GT3 RS and the Ferrari 430 Scuderia.
The time was set using a factory-stock vehicle and standard tires, and you can see the model battling the track in the video below.