Porsche's luxury sedan prefers DCT to planetary automatic
In what may prove to be a sign of the times in the high luxury market, Porsche will offer
its new Panamera sedan with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed PDK dual clutch transmission.
No conventional planetary automatic is included in the initial V8 gasoline engine program.
The four-door luxury sedan, which is sleekly shaped in the classic Porsche sports car style, despite its hatchback tailgate, will be revealed to the public at the Shanghai auto show in April. The main mechanical elements of the Panamera, including the 4.8 liter V8 direct-injection gasoline engines and the four wheel drive system, are drawn from the Cayenne high-performance luxury SUV. As in the Cayenne, but in contrast to Porsche's 911 and Boxster series sports cars, the engine is front mounted.
All but the entry-level Panamera S, with 400 horsepower, will feature all wheel drive via Porsche's ZF-sourced PDK dual clutch transmission; the S makes do with rear wheel drive and a six-speed manual gearbox - very rare in this class - but has the PDK transmission as an option.
Next up is the Panamera 4S, with all wheel drive and the PDK transmission as standard. Porsche claims 0-100km/h acceleration in 5.4 seconds and CO2 emissions of 253g/km, corresponding to a fuel consumption of 10.8 lit/100km. A notable innovation in PDK-equipped Panameras is the inclusion of automatic stop-start, cutting the engine to save fuel when waiting at a red light or when traffic is heavily congested. No other vehicles in this luxury class yet offer this feature as it is incompatible with the current generation of the six-speed ZF planetary automatic fitted to many models in this segment. Automakers such as BMW and Jaguar will have to wait until the next generation of eight-speed ZF automatics to benefit from this feature, claimed to reduce fuel consumption by at least 5 percent.
The top Panamera will be the 500 horsepower Turbo, which has both all wheel drive and dual clutch transmission
as standard, and which is capable of over 300km/h.
The ZF 7DT52 transmission is closely related to the PDK unit fitted to the 911 and Boxster/Cayman sports car ranges since last summer; the differences, says ZF, are not due to the configuration of the gear box, rather the inline installation behind the front-mounted engine.
Porsche has not yet stated whether the Panamera PDK will offer the same set of shifting programs as the transmission in the 911, nor whether features such as race start will be included. It is clear from published photographs, however, that both sport and sport plus modes will be selectable, though Porsche has given no clue as to whether these will influence the transmission as well as the suspension, steering and engine mapping. The likelihood is that the focus as far as the PDK calibration is concerned will be more on comfort than hardline performance: indeed, Porsche and ZF may be keen to disprove the recent contention of BMW vehicle development chief Klaus Draeger that dual clutch transmissions cannot be made smooth enough for high-end luxury vehicles.
Porsche Panamera |
|
|---|---|
| Vehicle type: | Luxury four-door hatchback sedan |
Engine: |
4.8 liter direct injection gasoline V8 |
Transmisison: |
Six-speed manual or seven-speed ZF DCT |
Drive: |
Rear or all wheel drive |
On sale: |
3rd quarter 2009 |
Likely pricing: |
€70,000 - €100,000 [90,000 - 125,000 USD) |
Story Filed: 3/9/2009
By Tony Lewin, managing editor DCTfacts.com