In most cases, it’s a foregone conclusion. When there are multiple bodystyles available, the fewest number of buyers exist for the wagon.
The Porsche Panamera’s case is unique, however. There is no Porsche Panamera sedan. This is a battle between the regular second-generation Porsche Panamera — a hatchback or liftback or fastback or backbackbackgone or whatever you want to call it — and the new Sport Turismo, a shooting brake five years in the making.
Yet with limited practical benefit, “It’s a question of taste; some people like the Sport Turismo more, some people like the sports sedan more,” Porsche’s sales and marketing director told Stefan Utsch, told Motoring.
80 percent of taste buds apparently prefer the regular Panamera.
Although the Panamera Sport Turismo offers less than one additional cubic foot of cargo capacity, there’s some flexibility gained by the lower load floor. More importantly, the Panamera Sport Turismo can ferry one additional passenger, though one wonders how many five-occupant Panamera Sport Turismos you’ll see on the morning commute.
So it’s down to the length of the roofline. Do you want it short, or long? “There will be country-specific differences,” Porsche’s Stefan Utsch says, “but in the worldwide perspective we expect to have about 20 per cent share Sport Turismo.” Porsche expects Europe to be more keen on the wagon, but Utsch says demand for the Panamera Sport Turismo in the U.S. and China is a question.
The U.S. and China account for 55 percent of Porsche’s global sales volume.
Porsche is reasonable in its expectations. There’s apparently little hope that the Sport Turismo will dramatically increase overall Panamera sales. “We want to get on-top [incremental] volume but not all will be,” Utsch says. Not only does Porsche believe the Sport Turismo is going to appeal to buyers of conventional Panameras, and vice versa, but Porsche’s Australian public relations chief Paul Ellis says, “This car will appeal to a high-end Cayenne buyer because of its flexibility and extra space.”
In the U.S., where Porsche is on track for roughly 6,000 Panamera sales in 2017, a similar sales pace in 2018 would result in around 1,200 Panamera Sport Turismo sales and 4,800 sales of the established Panamera.
Production of the 2018 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo began in Leipzig, Germany, in mid-July.
Basic Sport Turismo pricing is $11,200 dearer than for the regular Panamera; $6,600 pricier than the least expensive all-wheel-drive Panamera. The Panamera 4 Sport Turismo’s MSRP is $97,250. One rung up the ladder, the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo costs $105,050. The the Panamera 4S Sport Turismo enters the fray at $110,250. Topping the range is the $155,050 Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo.
[Images: Porsche]
Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.
I think that what people wanted was the normal Panamera shape—which became much better with the ’17 redesign—with a middle seat in the rear. And didn’t Porsche announce they were going to do that?
“There is no Porsche Panamera sedan.”
That’s pretty much nonsense: it’s a 4-door sedan by any common sense definition. Does anyone think that Panamera sales are affected by the fact that its trunk door includes the rear glass, or that any Panamera owner ever refers to, or thinks of, their car as a hatchback? Yeah — not. “Honey, I just picked up a new hatchback, it’ll be so practical for going to Home Depot. And it’s a Porsche!”
I’m a little surprised that this model’s USA sales run at 500 cars a month. That’s a pretty good rate for a car whose average as-delivered price is likely north of $100K.
I’d say it’s a liftback (like the Volt, 4-Series Gran Coupe and A7), not a sedan.
The shooting-brake variant is sort of a blend between a hatchback and a wagon. But no one would’ve mistaken the normal variant for a hatchback anyway.
The panamera is great but its too damned big. If they could make a sports sedan to compete with the BMW 4 series, it would be a guaranteed hit.
Agreed. Also, I drove a new Turbo and it had a shocking amount of lag (turbo? transmission?) Floor it..pausepausepause…mayham
For the most part, why would Porsche want to compete with a volume BMW? It has sister-brand Audi for that.
The Audi Macan and Audi Cayenne beg to differ
Porsche had a “baby Panamera” in the works, but has been put on hold (since not a CUV).
Even putting aside not ever having an issue with station wagons, would take this over the regular Pana (just looks better).
Wagon variants such as this and the new V-90 are really designed for the European market that still buys wagons in decent volume. Any extra sales from the US or China is a bonus.
That’s a lot of money for a very slightly different car. $11,000?!
I mean its Porsche…have you seen their options lists?
You can probably buy a $5000 quilted leather cargo cover with the $11k long roof option.
Less is more, I know I know.
So – how about a minivan version? :-)
Please. Never say shooting brake again. Shooting brake, forsooth.
A great car for plumbers and other tradies that are in a rush. Kudos for Porsche!
That’s too bad, ’cause it’s a damned sight more handsome than that dog diarrhea shaped sedan.