Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XXV

After a spirited, near two-hour run to the stage through Mexico City’s bustling morning rush hour traffic, I’d become acquainted with the Porsche’s agility and sharp response under throttle. Adorned with decals and numbers, the police gave us assistance to speed our way through the congestion and let us open the throttle on the wide freeways on the outskirts of the city heading for the hills. Its poise and stability during high-speed lane changing is proof of its Autobahn-bred engineering and it soaked up the miles with effortless ease. Once at the start of the stage, however, things quickly got down to business. Our car was standard in every way with only the normal checks for tyre pressures, fluid levels and brake pads. Helmet on and a final swoop of police cars to close the roads, and our car #001 was first to the stage to begin its pass. A target time of nine minutes was set for me to complete the stage. The race starter counted down from 30 seconds. Its Sport Plus setting was selected, placing the eight- speed PDK transmission into manual mode and first gear, so it was left foot on the brake as my right foot tickled the throttle to bring the revs up. Cool and composed a minute earlier, I now discovered my dry throat, my quickening pulse and a few beads of sweat from the palms as I gripped the three-spoke leather wheel. Not blinking, I was fixated on the time clock counting down from ten. Go! It was a short burst into second and touching third gear before a heavy brake into a tight, uphill right-hander, back to second and on the gas again hard. Grateful that the road was exclusively ours because the mass of the car’s two tonnes as it porpoised through the dish gutter threw it wide on to the opposite side, but perfectly on line for the long sprint up hill and into the left hander heading for more twisty bends. Its explosion of power out of those tight turns was phenomenal, keeping the turbos on the boil; it never lagged and approached corners with a ferocious speed. Not quite midway through the run, my navigator lost his place with his pace notes leaving him to call the rest of the stage purely off the car’s inbuilt navigation system. Thankfully it didn’t freeze or drop out despite our remote location. At the end of the run I’d cleaned the time by a respectable margin showing that the engine and chassis dynamics were up to the task, though not surprisingly, the brakes were crying for mercy. Plumes of smoke rising from both front wheels and a dead pedal on the way back down was the sign that it needed the return run down the hill to cool them off and let them come back to life. Tenminutes later they were as good as new, but it reminded me that this was a showroom stock car and for that it performed admirably under the conditions. The fact it could do this at all as a street-standard car is remarkable and a tribute to the battery of electronic traction and suspension features that are standard equipment. Standard all-wheel drive, adaptive air suspension, Porsche’s Active Suspension Management electronic damper control, Dynamic Chassis Control Sport, Torque Vectoring Plus, active roll stabilisation, a new electro-mechanical steering system and a rear axle steering unit taken straight from the 918 Spyder super car and current 911 Turbo are just some of the digital life-saving features that quietly and unobtrusively keep you planted firmly on the road at all times. Car #001 ended the day fastest of all and theMiddle East contingent held its collective head high knowing that we topped the Latin and South American press on their home turf. Likewise, Porsche can hold its head high that it hasn’t forsaken its motorsport background as it chased the luxury, four-door saloon market, delivering a car that’s up to the task of setting a time which would have seen it very competitive throughout the race’s golden years. During its pre-launch testing, the Panamera turbo completed a lap of the Nurburgring in seven minutes 38 seconds, which is on par with the time set just five years earlier by the 911 Carrera S. At the same time, it provides a luxurious environment befitting of a AED 679,800 saloon to rival the likes of the Audi A7, BMW6 Series Gran Coupé and theMercedes- Benz CLS, while its restyled looks which include a roofline that’s been lowered by 20mm is a huge winner in my eyes compared to the outgoing model. Its wheelbase is 30mm longer and it sits 5mm wider than before, but it doesn’t look as slab-sided as the old model and thankfully that roundish rump has been stylised into something which carries over a family resemblance from the 911 Coupe. For the first drive of what is ultimately a big, luxury car, I couldn’t think of a better way for Porsche to showcase its past, present and future in just 9km of mountain road.