Porsche's Duck-Faced 2024 Panamera Is the Fastest Luxury Ride on the Nurburgring

The Zuffenhausen car brand put its test driver, Lars Kern, behind the wheel of a pre-production 2024 Porsche Panamera last Friday (July 12, 2024), and he managed to set a lap time of 7 minutes and 24.17 seconds around the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

So, what does this mean for Porsche? That the new-gen Panamera is now the quickest ride in the "luxury class" for "cars with combustion engines and hybrids*." The vehicle in question was equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires measuring 275/35R21 at the front and 325/30R21 at the rear, which are said to have been specially developed for this model.

Moreover, it also benefitted from the Carbon Aerokit, which is an option capable of reducing front axle lift, and the Gurney flap on the adaptive rear wing. For safety purposes, the Panamera that was set loose at the famous German racetrack against the clock featured a roll cage and a racing seat. Other than that, Porsche says the car "corresponded to the series version."

"The powertrain, the aerodynamics, the chassis, the new ultra-high-performance tires from Michelin – many aspects have contributed to this best time," said driver pro-driver Lars Kern. "No other Porsche offers such a wide spectrum between comfort and sportiness. The new Panamera combines the positive properties of an exclusive touring saloon (sedan) with the handling of a sports car," he added.

Lars Kern holds other impressive achievements under his belt, as he set class records at the same racetrack in the Panamera and Panamera Turbo S in 2016 and 2020, respectively. The stopwatch showed 7.29.81 in the latter, which makes the new Panamera over five seconds faster than its predecessor, "underlining the consistent further development of the four-door sports car," according to Porsche.

The most powerful version of the 2024 Porsche Panamera on sale in the United States is the Turbo E-Hybrid. It starts at $191,000, offers 670 horsepower (680 ps/500 kW) combined, does the zero to sixty mph (0 to 97 kph) in 3.0 seconds with the Sport Chrono Package, and pushes up to 196 mph (315 kph) on summer tires.

Lesser models in the new-gen Porsche Panamera family include the 4S E-Hybrid, with its combined 536 hp (544 ps/400 kW) and $126,800 MSRP, the Panamera 4, which gets 348 hp (353 ps/260 kW) and has an MSRP of $109,800, and the base model, which is equally powerful as the 4 and will set its buyers back at least $102,800, before factoring in the dealer fees and destination charge.