No doubt, buyers of the 2010 Porsche Panamera, whose starting retail price is $90,775, are well insulated from the economic turmoil – and that’s before they are encased in the Panamera’s 4,000-pound mass, 16 feet of metal from bumper to bumper.

Only about 4,700 of these rare cars have been sold in the United States so far, and the drive in a Panamera is special.

The V-8 engines deliver awesome power and acceleration so quick, a driver can race up to other cars in traffic in a heartbeat. At the same time, the Panamera’s interior appointments can be sumptuous and the array of driver-controlled buttons for seats, suspension settings and more, overwhelming. Throughout, the heaviness of this extra-long vehicle serves as a constant reminder that this isn’t a usual Porsche.

Launched in this country in October last year, the Panamera has been available in three levels, all with V-8s. The base model, with 400-horsepower V-8, is rear-wheel drive, while the mid-level 2010 Panamera 4S, has the 400-horsepower V-8 plus all-wheel drive and a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $94,775. The top 2010 Panamera Turbo comes with a 500-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V-8, all-wheel drive and a starting retail price of $133,575.

A new entry model with 300-horsepower V-6 is planned for introduction shortly, and it will carry a starting retail price of around $75,000.

Panamera competitors include other high-performance, luxury sedans such as the 2010 Mercedes-Benz CLS550, which has a 382-horsepower V-8, rear-wheel drive and a $74,575 starting retail price tag.

The size and styling of the test 2010 Panamera 4S made onlookers do doubletakes. From the front, the car looked like a two-seat 911, but with a longer hood that’s needed to accommodate the front-mounted V-8. It’s only when people started to take in the full side view of the car – seeing the four doors instead of the 911′s two doors and the extra length – that it began to sink in that this was a different Porsche.

Driving the Panamera, I had to adjust, too. I was accustomed to slipping into tight parking spaces with the Porsche 911s I had tested. But the Panamera is a foot wider, outside mirrors included. It also has long doors, so I had to skip compact-sized parking spots and seek wider and longer spots instead.

The Panamera has seats for four lucky riders who travel in style. Seat cushions are thick, supportive and comfortable for long drives, even in the back seat. And the optional luxor beige full leather interior looked and felt rich in the test car. The only problem came in certain sunlight conditions, when the light-colored leather swathed on the dashboard reflected up to the windshield, creating glare. The same situation occurred at the parcel shelf behind the rear seats, because it, too, had the light color and would reflect up to the rear window.

The 4.8-liter, double overhead cam V-8 in the Panamera 4S was mated to a dual-clutch, seven-speed transmission that operates normally as an automatic but can be shifted manually sans clutch pedal. Torque peaks at 369 foot-pounds at a commendable 3,500 rpm, which provided good get up and go in nearly all driving situations in the test car. I had to watch the pressure I put on the accelerator, because the accelerator in the test car needed more than a light touch.

Shifts could be noticeable in both slow-speed, easygoing travel as well as aggressive driving. And the brakes in the test car, with more than 4,000 miles, took some getting used to because braking power didn’t come on linearly. Rather, there was a sense of artificiality in the brake feel and brakes would grab, rather than smoothly slow the car at times.

For a test car that topped out at more than $100,000, the Panamera 4S seemed to be showing some wear and tear early. For example, the 19-inch tires were worn in areas.

Everyone rides low to the pavement in the Panamera, so views out the front are limited to the back ends of taller vehicles. But once the traffic is behind the Panamera and roads open up, the car moves purposefully and flawlessly, with the body mass well-controlled, in turns and on twisty roads. Also, the test car’s steering was precise, but not twitchy.

The interior was quite quiet, unless the car was accelerating hard, and then deep V-8 sounds came to the fore.

Fuel economy is poor. The all-wheel drive test model was rated at 16 miles per gallon in city driving and 24 mpg on the highway. This is worse than many sport utility vehicles. The Panamera has a large 26.4-gallon gasoline tank, allowing it to travel more than 400 miles before needing a fillup. Premium fuel is required.

The cargo area of 15.7 cubic feet expands to 44.6 cubic feet if the back seats are folded down.

The Panamera comes with a full complement of safety equipment, including antilock brakes, curtain air bags and electronic stability control. But some driving aides, such as parking sensors, are options.

In the spring, more than 3,100 Panameras were recalled because their safety belt locking mechanism might not work if a front seat was adjusted ” towards an extreme position” at the time of a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Technorati Tags: doubletakes, draws, Porsche, Rare, sedan

This Porsche is really a Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde, as the six cylinder performs more in line with the old lumbering SUV’s mentioned earlier, the Twin Turbo V8, while setting you back in your seat, will also set your wallet back as well. The MSRP on the Cayenne ranges from around 46k, all the way up to 126k depending on how you want it. Resisting 516 ft lbs. of torque and 500 HP reaching 60mph in 4.9 seconds may be too hard to resist for some, but be prepared to pay for it.

Here is a small piece of the review by thecarconnection.com

TheCarConnection.com’s expert reviewers have compiled their own driving impressions together with a thorough search of the web’s road tests and reviews to compile a comprehensive review to help you make the best buying decision possible.

Likes:
Excellent handling
Potent acceleration in Turbo form
High-speed stability
Excellent front seats

Dislikes:
Space-inefficient interior
Fuel economy for V-8 models
V-6 still doesn’t accelerate like a Porsche
The Cayenne is Porsche’s only SUV, and it’s the brand’s best-selling vehicle in North America. Such a successful recipe is worth sticking with, and accordingly Porsche has announced no updates for the 2010 model year, though two special-edition models are available: The Transsyberia S and the GTS PD Edition 3. Those models offers unique equipment and appearance packages on the standard S and GTS layouts, respectively.

The 2010 Porsche Cayenne sees essentially no visual updates inside or out, with the front and rear exterior updates of 2008 and the intake/exhaust updates of 2009 carrying forward to 2010. The contoured taillamps and Turbo-specific LED versions are still characteristic of the vehicle’s styling, and the prominent lower air dam up front balances the dual exhausts out back.

In base V-6 form, the 2010 Porsche Cayenne won’t easily be confused for a fast vehicle of any form. It gets to 60 mph in about 8 seconds, which is downright anemic for a Porsche-branded vehicle. Slow response off the line is to blame for most of the sluggish times, as in-gear passing power is good with both the standard six-speed manual transmission and the more common six-speed Tiptronic automatic.

Two V-8 engines are available for 2010: a 4.8-liter rated at 385 horsepower sits under the hood of the Cayenne S, while the Turbo S gets a twin-turbocharged version of the same engine rated at 500 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That much power delivers truly Porsche-like acceleration without questions, hitting 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds.

Little has changed cosmetically, but I enjoy the lines of the Cayenne, still with a new iteration destined for 2011, which if rumors of the ending of the model line are true, could be the last for Cayenne. We will have to wait and see, but one thing is for sure, the Cayenne can be as nasty as you want it to be. You can take her out to dinner at the highest class restaurant, or get dirty with her at the night club. The choice is yours.

Technorati Tags: Cayenne, Porsche

The Nissan GT-R has been rated the coolest trend car of? today by the very famous german car magazine “Auto Bild”.

Nissan claims the GT-R can reach a top speed of 192 mph (309 km/h), Motor Trend recorded a top speed of 195.0 mph (313.8 km/h). It has been tested to achieve 0-60 mph (97 km/h) times as low as 3.2 seconds with launch control and 3.9 seconds without (improved to 3.5 seconds in models produced since March 2009). Autocar achieved a 0-100 mph (160 km/h) time of 8.5 seconds.

With a manufacturer claimed lap time of 7:26:7 min on standard Japanese market tires, the GT-R is currently one of the fastest production cars to lap the Nürburgring circuit.

The GT-R currently holds a lap time of 1:19.7 around the Top Gear Test Track, equalling that of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia.

Road & Track were able to achieve quick lap times with the car on Buttonwillow Raceway, clocking in approximately 5 seconds faster than the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and Porsche 911 Turbo.

On Willow Springs International Motorsports Park, Edmunds were able to achieve lap times that were approximately 1 second slower than a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 with the GT-R.

Several automotive journalists, including Chris Harris of Autocar, Jethro Bovingdon of Evo, and Jason Barlow of Top Gear (magazine) have compared the GT-R to the Bugatti Veyron. Harris and Bovingdon both labeled the GT-R a “baby Veyron” in their respective comparison tests of the car.

The production version of the GT-R debuted at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, launching in the Japanese market on December 6, 2007. The U.S. official launch was 7 months later on July 07, 2008. Universal Nissan in Los Angeles provided a customer with the delivery of a new GT-R, fresh from the production line at 12:01 AM, on July 7, 2008. The Canadian launch was also in July 2008. Europe became the third consumer market, where it launched late in the year. The large disparity in initial marketing between these regional releases is due to Nissan having to build GT-R performance centers where the car is serviced. Also the engine and rear-mounted dual-clutch gearbox are built by hand, thus limiting production to around 1000 cars a month.

* Top Gear Awards 2007 – Supercar of the Year 2007
* Automobile Magazine – 2009 Automobile of the Year
* Evo Magazine Car of the Year 2008
* Edmunds – 2009 Edmunds’ Inside Line Editors’ Most Wanted Awards: Instant Classic
* Motor Trend – 2009 Motor Trend Car of the Year
* 2008 Japan’s Most Advanced Technology Award
* Popular Mechanics – Automotive Excellence Awards 2008 (Design)
* 2009 International Car of the Year

Duration : 0:7:40

Technorati Tags: 2009, amazing, best, bugatti, car, CARS., Dreamcars, Drive, engine, fast, Ferrari, Gear, GT-R, GTR, Japanese, lamborghini, Nissan, Nordschleife, Number, of, Pilot, Porsche, R34, R35, race, Record, Run, Sexy, Skyline, speed, sports, Stig, Supercar, Test, the, Top, track, Tuned, Tuning, world, Year

Shot and produced by: Sarah Gersh & Eric Rossi
Edited by: Lindsay Bjerregaard

Duration : 0:3:49

Technorati Tags: 2008, 911, aston, Audi, CARS., carscom, granturismo, m6, martin, maserati, mw, Porsche, R8, v8, vantage

Don’t forget to hit “view in high quality” at the bottom right of the video to see the car review in full at it’s best! Visit http://www.topgear.com for all the latest news and reviews.

Duration : 0:9:25

Technorati Tags: 911, Audi, auto, BBC, car, CARS., Fastest, funny, Gear, Hot, Lap, Porsche, R8, Review, speed, Time, Top, Vehicle, video

Duration : 0:10:30

Technorati Tags: Audi, BMW, CARS., Deutschland, Germany, Maybach, mercedes-benz, Opel, performance, Porsche, quality, Volkswagen