Porsche Panamera Manual: It Exists
Posted by Doug DeMuro in It Exists on | 9 comments
I’ve been on a “save the manuals” kick lately, which is funny because I haven’t owned one in a year and a half. A few people mentioned this when I posted my rant about manuals over on Jalopnik, but of course I silenced those comments like I silence all comments that don’t talk about how excellent I am. (Just kidding – I’m not a local news station.)
Anyway: the most recent expansion of my “save the manuals” work is to highlight the Porsche Panamera, which is not sold with a manual transmission. Why, you might ask, am I highlighting it? Because it is sold with a manual transmission.
Pictured above, and also below for some reason, is a Porsche Panamera with a stick shift. You see, in Europe, the Panamera is sold with a proper stick and three pedals. And it gets better: not only is it offered on the Panamera, you can also get it on the Panamera S. That’s right: a 400-horsepower, rear-wheel drive German sedan (hatchback, let’s be honest) with a stick shift.
Sadly, the manual isn’t sold here for about a dozen reasons. In fact, the manual isn’t even sold in Europe, where I’m told roughly one person out of ten zillion actually chooses it. Still: it’s there, and it exists. Just not in the States, until someone as crazy as me decided to import one – in 23 years.
9 Responses to “ “Porsche Panamera Manual: It Exists”
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I would love to have a turbo version of this in manual. It would make an incredible gt car.
This is so freakin awesome. I want one. Damn US car market and its lack of proper sport hatchbacks/wagons.
Well, you can get the Bannarama’s cousin (Cayenne) in the US with a stick shift and a horribly outdated VW VR6 engine……………
Never mind!
Hah! I actually had one for a night and put about 100 miles on it. It drives surprisingly well.
Agreed, though there was obviously no stick to test, just the auto. I almost ordered one, but in the new and improved version, the back seat does not fold flat. A deal killer for dog lovers. The salesman — sorry, Customer Associate or some such title — initially thought I was joking.
Doug – a quick search on AutoScout24.de tells me that there are currently 935 Panamaras for sale, which I think is a conspiracy by Porsche to ensure that the market for any given Porsche model equals one of their famous race cars, but I digress.
If I select the transmission filter to manual, I see that list gets reduced. To six. Yes 6. That means that the market for a manual-equipped Panamara is roughly half a percent… Save the manuals, indeed!
You can (hopefully) check out the list here (although I don’t know if the link will work): http://fahrzeuge.autoscout24.de/?atype=C&make=57&mmvco=1&model=19136&mmvmk0=57&mmvmd0=19136&gear=M&pricefrom=1000&cy=D&ustate=N%2cU
Wow – that’s wild. Tease out that take rate and you’re looking at 99.4 percent automatics. A sad, sad state of affairs. Then again, luxury cars in Europe are even more commonly automatic than they are here – it’s a much bigger deal in Europe to associate luxury with stick shift.
I drove a manual Panamera S every now and then while I was working for Porsche Exclusive in Zuffenhausen, we had a aquablue metallic one in the Exclusive-carpool. This car was in combination with Sport Chrono package and sports exhaust system a whole lot of fun…and tiresmoke. Sadly you can’t get any new Panamera with a manual transi any more, probably because only seven customers were crazy enough to choose a manual transmission for a 400hp-V8-RWD-beast.
P.S.: Doug, I have been reading your texts at TTAC, Jalopnik etc for a long time now. They always make me smile and enrich my days. Keep up the good work, love your automotive knowledge!
Best wishes from Germany!
Cheers, Josh
Josh – thanks for the kind words! I wish I had gotten to drive that Panamera when I visited the Exclusive Dept., as I did many times. We probably crossed paths! Hope all is well in Germany.