911 and Panamera

The other day, while my family and I were out driving the Panamera, my husband said this while driving:

The Panamera is incredibly similar to the GT3. He was seriously saying this. After driving the GT3, getting into the Panamera and pulling out of the garage, it really feels like a 911 that’s been enlarged and made luxurious—there’s no sense of disconnect at all.
From someone who regularly drives both, it’s very clear that “the Panamera was designed with the 911 in mind.” The Panamera feels closer to the GT3 than it does to the Boxster.
Sometimes people say, “The Panamera isn’t really a Porsche,” but to those people I want to say, “try driving the Panamera more thoroughly before you say that.”

He said.

Indeed, the smooth yet firm ride of the 911 GT3 (991.2) (it does pick up quite a bit of shock on bumpy roads) might share a similar base with the ride of the Panamera Turbo. Of course, the Panamera Turbo feels more substantial.

When I asked, “Okay, they’re similar, but what exactly is similar?”

He said the biggest similarity is in the “handling.” The “vibrations transmitted through the steering wheel, the responsiveness from the start to the end of a steering input,” the “grip feeling when cornering,” and the “strong, almost ground-scraping sense of power when pushing through a curve” all feel alike.
The Boxster feels a bit different—it’s more about light, nimble cornering rather than powerful. The Boxster’s steering has a slightly softer initial feel, whereas the GT3 and Panamera feel a bit different in that regard.

I see…

I’ve only driven the GT3 twice, so I don’t remember that feeling clearly, but with the Panamera, the cornering is definitely powerful, yet it also has the agility and sharpness of a smaller car. Despite its size, it confidently tackles mountain roads like the Royu Driveway.

My husband continued,

Well… both the GT3 and this Panamera have “rear-axle steering,” which I think is a big factor. They turn with an amazing steering angle. On the flip side, I think the “911s without rear-axle steering and Panameras without rear-axle steering” probably have very similar handling.

I see… Then I asked, “If the Panamera is similar to the 911, does that mean it’s also similar to the air-cooled 964?”

No, that’s a different era. Compared to when the 964 was made, modern 911s and Panameras have evolved a lot. So, it’s like the ingredients are the same, but the seasoning is completely different—you can’t just say they’re ‘similar’ in one word.
If the Porsche 989 (concept car), the ancestor of the Panamera, had been released, it might have been similar to the 964. You could say “the 971 Panamera is similar to the 991” and probably “the 970 Panamera is similar to the 997.”

Hmm… _φ(･_･

When I had the 970 Panamera Edition, I thought, “There’s no way the new 971 Panamera could surpass this one.” It was that well-made.

But when I test-drove the new Panamera 4S at the dealer and pressed the accelerator just a bit, I was amazed to feel that the “lightness, smoothness, ride comfort, and handling” all far exceeded the previous model.

At that time, my husband said,

“The 971 wasn’t just an improvement on the 970—it feels like it was developed from scratch. The tagline ‘911 will be jealous‘ fits perfectly!”

He was impressed.

The Panamera Is a Porsche

The first Porsche I ever drove in my life was the “Panamera.” Back then, I wasn’t very interested in cars and didn’t even know the Panamera existed. I just thought, “Since we’re at the dealer, why not test drive a big Porsche?” and took it for a light spin.

But at that moment, the “oneness with the car, the smoothness of the drive, and the perfect harmony between accelerator and brake” were completely different from any car I’d driven before—it gave me goosebumps.

And I honestly thought, “Porsche is amazing!”

Since then, I’ve become a huge Panamera fan, but online I’ve seen comments like:

“The Panamera sells the least among Porsches,” “Don’t call yourself a Porsche owner if you drive a Panamera.”

Every time I see that, I think, “Who are these people to say that without really knowing the Panamera? I want to completely refute and utterly crush those opinions so they never speak like that again…” (scary, right?) But I think that would be childish, so I’ve just ignored it.

Still, I want to say again: no matter what anyone says, the Panamera is a genuine Porsche.

I don’t claim to know everything about Porsche—far from it—but having driven various Porsche models, I truly feel that “the base running through the Panamera is the 911.”

Returning to the conversation with my husband at the start… he said,

“The Panamera’s handling is similar to the 911’s,” but it’s not that simple. I think Porsche’s engineers have done extensive research and development down to the smallest details to make the Panamera with the 911 in mind.
Considering the differences in body weight, wheelbase, and size, the fact that they feel this similar is truly amazing.”

He said thoughtfully.

Recently, there was news about a “Panamera coupe in development?” and voices are starting to talk about the upcoming facelift for the 971 Panamera, so I’m really looking forward to the Panamera’s continued evolution.

And I still love the Panamera.