Atlanta, Georgia. The new 2021 Porsche Panamera Turbo S has taken its latest step as it demonstrates its capabilities on demanding courses around the world. After achieving a then-record lap at Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife before its official unveiling late last year, the Panamera Turbo S travelled to Porsche Cars North America’s home and on to its local track – Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to set a benchmark lap time of 1 minute and 31.51 seconds. PCNA enlisted professional race car driver Leh Keen to showcase the significantly enhanced driving capabilities of the new Panamera on the 2.54-mile race track in November.
This track activity follows the benchmark lap time achieved by the Taycan Turbo S at the same track last year.
‟The engineers found a perfect balance,” said Keen. ‟They really made it feels small and sporty. The stability gave me a ton of confidence to use every bit of the asphalt and curbs. And yet the car has a completely different and more refined and relaxed character on the highway – an amazing combination.”
The 2021 Porsche Panamera Turbo S, expected to arrive in U.S. dealerships Spring 2021, includes an extensive list of performance-oriented standard equipment that helps in highly dynamic and demanding driving scenarios, such as Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB), Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV+), rear axle steering and Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control Sport roll-stabilization system (PDCC Sport).
To further improve its performance, the Panamera Turbo S was fitted with optional newly-developed road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport cup 2 ND0 ultra-high performance tires. They are sized 275/35 ZR 21 103Y XL at the front and 325/30 ZR 21 108Y XL at the rear. Bearing the typical Porsche ‟N” designation signifying a co-development between Porsche and the tire manufacturer, this tire was tuned at the Nürburgring specifically for the Panamera and its customers and will be available via the Porsche dealership network and TireRack.
Vehicle data acquisition and timing expert Racelogic was on site to record and verify the lap time utilizing their VBOX video HD2 system. Onboard footage of the lap is available at the official Porsche YouTube channel Porsche YouTube channel.
About Porsche Cars North America, Inc. | One Porsche Drive, Atlanta, GA 30354 USA
Kjell Gruner is President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), where he is responsible for both the United States and Canada. He also heads the executive leadership team of Porsche Digital, Inc., the sports car manufacturer’s digital subsidiary in the U.S.
Kjell Gruner first joined Porsche in 1999 as a Senior Manager in Marketing, Planning and Strategy, after beginning his career at Boston Consulting Group. In 2004, he joined Daimler AG, most recently as Director Strategy Mercedes-Benz Cars, before returning to Porsche AG in 2010 as CMO.
Kjell Gruner studied and has a doctorate in Industrial Engineering and Marketing in Germany and the United States.
Established in 1984, Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) is the exclusive U.S. importer of the Porsche 911, 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, Macan, Cayenne, Panamera and Taycan. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1998, PCNA is also home to the first Porsche Experience Center in North America featuring a module-based 1.6 mile driver development track, business center, and fine dining restaurant, 356. The company operates a second Porsche Experience Center near Los Angeles. That 53-acre complex features a driver development track with eight educational modules totaling 4.1 miles, a business center, and Restaurant 917. PCNA supports 192 independently owned and operated Porsche dealerships in the U.S., including supplying parts, service, marketing, and training. They, in turn, work to provide Porsche customers with a best-in-class experience that is in keeping with the Porsche brand's 70-year history of leadership in the advancement of vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency. PCNA is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
At the core of this success is Porsche's proud racing heritage that boasts some 30,000-plus motorsport wins to date.
Photos and video footage are available to accredited journalists on the Porsche Press Database at http://press.porsche.com/.
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Phone: +1.770.290.3414
E-mail: frank.wiesmann@porsche.us
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