Tokyo Auto Salon 2011: Nissan 350Z Poses as a Porsche Drag Queen with a Panamera Face...

The Tokyo Auto Salon is always a blast featuring all sorts of unique tuning proposals, like this here Porsche wannabe. When our Tokyo show man Phil sent us the above photo, we assumed it pictured a Porsche -possibly a Boxster- wearing some kind of extreme bodykit. We were quickly proved wrong, however, when he sent over an image of the interior as well as short video, and revealed that the Porsche Panamera-faced tune was actually a Nissan 350Z Roadster!

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Cayenne and Panamera Help Boost Porsche Sales by 86.4% Compared to Previous Quarter

Even in this harsh economical climate, Porsche sales continue to grow, as the German maker shifted 21,218 units in the first three months of the 2010 short fiscal year (August 1 – December 31). That's an impressive 86.4% growth compared to the same period last year, although Porsche management admits that the prior-year quarter was "relatively weak", so a higher growth rate was expected.

Revenue amounted to €2.06 billion (+80.3%), while the company's operating result reached €395 million for the same three month period.

The new Cayenne fared particularly well with 10,292 units sold (+151%), followed by the Panamera with 5,778 vehicles and a growth rate of 94%. The success of the 4-door coupe is due to the fact that last year it wasn't available on all markets and the six-cylinder model went on sale in May 2010. The 911's sales were also up, reaching 3,130 units (+20.4%), while the Boxster with 1,089 and Cayman with 929 vehicles remained the least coveted Porsches.

The Americas lead in terms of regional sales, up by 82% and totaling 7,268 units, of which 6,632 went to North America. Europe is close behind (7,082), while Asia and the rest of the world are third (6,868), albeit with the biggest growth rate (126%), fueled by the strong demand in China.

"We can be satisfied with the key indicators of the first three months. Porsche AG is continuing on a profitable growth course" said Matthias Müller, chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG.

"Due to the order intake worldwide in the past few months, we expect a good double-digit return on sales in the short fiscal year from August to December 2010. With this current order situation, we also anticipate a good start to the new fiscal year 2011" Lutz Meschke, member of Porsche AG's executive board in charge of finance and procurement, added.

Porsche's sales growth also helped create new jobs, with the company currently employing 13,043 people, a 2.5% increase over July 2010.

By Csaba Daradics

GrandGT: TechArt Tunes Porsche's Panamera Turbo to 571HP

Joining the world premiere of the 2011 Cayenne-based Magnum at next month's Auto Zurich Car Show in Switzerland, will be yet another new tuning proposal from Porsche specialist TechArt, this time based on the Panamera sports saloon. Dubbed the GrandGT, the tuning firm's new customization program revamps the Panamera Turbo's exterior and interior styling, and performance.

Starting with the exterior dress up, the German tuner's wide bodykit provides a more aggressive appearance to the Panamera. It includes a modified front bumper housing integrated LED daytime running lights and a front splitter, a carbon fiber hood, side skirts, a fixed rear wing, a new rear bumper with additional air vents and a diffuser.

There are also new front and rear fenders, which increase the car's width by 21mm and 42mm on each side respectively, while the body colored headlamp trims, new exhaust tail pipes and a choice of alloy wheel designs in sizes 20-, 21- and 22-inches complete the exterior makeover.

For the interior, TechArt's program offers buyers a wide variety of customization options ranging from an entertainment package with two 7-inch screens that are integrated into the front seat backrests to a full leather treatment with decorative stitching in custom colors.

Under the hood, the TA 070/T1 powerkit lifts the 4.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8's output from 368 kW (493-hp) and 700 Nm to 426 kW (571-hp) and 830 Nm, while there's also a new sport exhaust system producing a throatier sound.

Details on pricing and availability will be announced at the unveiling of the car at the Auto Zurich Car Show.

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Porsche Sells more than 22,000 Panamera Sedans in its First Year of Production

Say what you want about the new Panamera, but the premium sports saloon is selling like beer at Oktoberfest. Within the first year of production, Porsche sold 22, 518 copies of the Panamera sports saloon globally, with 2,530 vehicles in Germany alone. While the Stuttgart-based automaker did not break down country-specific sales numbers, oddly enough, it released some data on city-specific sales.

In North America, which is traditionally Porsche's most significant sales market, the company sold 890 Panamera saloons in Los Angeles and 760 in New York. In Asia, 300 vehicles were delivered to Hong Kong this past year, while 223 examples made their way to Tokyo and another 188 to Shanghai. In other cities across the globe, Porsche sold 285 Panameras in Dubai, 203 in Moscow, 206 in Munich, 117 in Hamburg and 108 in Berlin.

"Our corporate strategy of value-oriented growth has proven itself to be a successful model: With the Panamera, Porsche has clearly positioned itself with the sportiest automobile in the high-end and luxury-class market and achieves already a 13 per-cent share of its segment today", said Bernhard Maier, Member of the Management Board for Sales and Marketing.

Currently, Porsche offers five variants of its sports saloon, including the Panamera and Panamera 4 with a 300HP V6, the Panamera S and Panamera 4S with a 400 HP V8, and the flagship Turbo model with a 500 HP V8.

Leading the charts with 9,394 vehicles delivered, is the Panamera 4S, followed by the Turbo (6,171 vehicles) and the Panamera S (4,563 vehicles). However, the six-cylinder Panamera, which was introduced into the market only a few weeks ago, is quickly catching up having already found 2,390 new owners.

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Porsche Adds New Performance and Styling Packages for Panamera Sports Saloon

With some 23,000 sales in the first year of production, the new Panamera is proving to be a major asset for Porsche in difficult times. Now, Stuttgart is looking to further enhance the appeal of its sports sedan with the introduction of new optional packages for the individualization programme including a Powerkit for the Turbo model, a Sport Design Package and new alloy wheels.

Available on the Panamera Turbo, the Powerkit package adds a recalibrated ECU and two new turbochargers with titanium-alloy turbine wheels. As a result, the V8 engine's output is lifted from 500HP to 540HP and torque from 700Nm to 750Nm (533 lb-ft). When combined with the Sport Chrono package, torque increases in the over-boost mode to 800Nm (590 lb-ft).

Porsche says that in Sport Plus mode, the Panamera Turbo with the Powerkit accelerates from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 3.9 seconds, or 0.1 sec faster than the standard car, while top speed rises from 303km/h to 305 km/h (190mph). According to the company, fuel consumption remains the same as that of the 500HP model at 11.5 lt/100km (20.4mpg US).

Now for the bad news. Those 40 ponies and 50Nm of torque will cost buyers in Germany a hefty €16,695.7 (about US$21,400) including VAT. The package will be available as an option for new models in September and as a retrofit kit for existing cars from November this year.

Moving onto the Sport Design Package, which will be available on all Panamera models in October, it includes a unique body-colored front end with wider black air intake grilles, more sculpted side skirts and the standard, body-colored rear underbody apron with diffuser and fins. This option will set new car buyers back an extra €4,581.50 (US$5,880) in Germany. The side skirts will be available for existing cars for €969.85 (US$1,240).

Other options released by Porsche include a newly designed set of 20-inch Sport wheels (9.5" wide on the front axle, and 11.5" on the rear axle) available in a silver or black finish for €1,588.65 (US$2,038).

APS Sportec Rolls Out Tuning Packages for Porsche Panamera Turbo

Few would call the new Porsche Panamera Turbo a slouch in the horsepower department, but if you happen to be one them, you may want to take a look at the new performance enhancement program from APS, the UK importer of the Swiss tuning firm Sportec.

Buyers can start off with the Stage One conversion that uses a reprogrammed ECU with optimized settings for fueling, ignition and turbo boost parameters to bump the V8's output from a quoted 493bhp and 516 lb-ft, to a dyno proven 560bhp at 6,150 rpm and 576 lb-ft (790 Nm) of torque at 3,340 rpm.

With this kit, the German sports saloon can sprint to 100km/h (62mph) in 3.9 seconds, a 0.3 seconds improvement over the standard model, while top speed is electronically limited to 195mph (315km/h). The ECU upgrade is priced at £,2900 fitted and including tax.

If that's not enough, Sportec has developed a Stage Two package. Along with the recalibrated ECU, the kit adds of a cat back stainless steel sports exhaust system featuring quad 90mm tail pipes and a pair of 'sound throttles' that allow the driver to adjust the sound levels using a supplied remote control.

In this case, power is kicked up to 575 bhp at 5,800 rpm and 598 lb-ft 820 Nm (820 Nm) between 3,000-4,250 rpm. The tuner claims 0-100km/h (62mph) acceleration takes 3.8 seconds, while top speed is once again limited to 195mph (315km/h). This package will set you back £7,990.

The company also offers a variety of other upgrades including 22 inch forged alloy wheels, suspension and braking systems, as well as cosmetic enhancements.

TECHART Powers Up Porsche Panamera Turbo

For those looking to add an extra punch in performance under the engine bay of the Panamera Turbo, Porsche tuner extraordinaire Techart has released a new power kit for the German sports saloon. The TA 070/T1 kit provides the 4.8-liter turbocharged V8 with an additional 80-horsepower and 70Nm of torque for a total output of 580HP and 830Nm whenever the driver needs it at a touch of a button located on the center console.

The Techart-prepped Panamera Turbo drops the stock 0-100km/h (62mph) time of 4.2 seconds (4.0 seconds with the Sports Chrono package) down to 3.8 seconds, while the car completes the 0-200km/h (124mph) sprint in 12.5 seconds. Top speed is increased from 303km/h to 315km/h (196mph).

The new power kit for the Panamera Turbo will be available from all Techart dealers starting in August.