Style over sales for Porsche wagon

It’s unarguably now the style leader in the Porsche Panamera range, but the new Sport Turismo wagon won’t challenge its frumpy saloon’s status as sales leader.

Driven this week by Aussie motoring media on Vancouver Island in Canada, the Sport Turismo is forecast by Porsche to account for just 20 per cent of worldwide Panamera sales volume and only half that in Australia.

Global Panamera sales and marketing director, Dr Stefan Utsch, told motoring.com.au limited popularity for traditional wagons in many markets mitigated against Sport Turismo becoming the big seller in the range.

“There will be country-specific differences but in the worldwide perspective we expect to have about 20 per cent share Sport Turismo,” he said.

“[That’s] If you take into account in Europe that the shooting brake is more or less well accepted, but in the US it’s a question and in China it’s a question.”

Utsch admitted some of those sales would be cannibalised from other Porsche models including the Panamera saloon.

“This 20 per cent means we are talking about all Panamera sales worldwide. We want to get on-top [incremental] volume but not all will be. There is always a relationship of substitution and on-top volume. It would not be fair to suggest there is no customer who doesn’t think ‘should I take a sports sedan or a Sport Turismo?’,” he said.

There are five Sport Turismos being launched in Australia. The entry-model is the $232,500 3.0-litre V6 Panamera 4, which is $7300 more than its saloon equivalent. It’s the same story for the petrol-electric 4 E-Hybrid, 2.9-litre bi-turbo petrol V6 4S and 4S Diesel V8, while the 4.0-litre V8 Turbo adds $6200 to be $390,700 plus on-road costs.

Engine outputs are as per the saloon, while fuel economy is the same or fractionally higher. Across the range weight is up no more than 50kg compared to the saloon, with most models hovering near the 2000kg mark.

All Sport Turismos are PTM all-wheel drive, have eight-speed PDK dual-clutch gearboxes and auto start/stop and coasting. They are underpinned by double wishbones up-front and a multi-link rear axle, air suspension, six-piston monoblock brakes up front and four-pistons at the rear.

Working off the same 2950mm wheelbase and 5049mm overall length as the standard wheelbase version of the Panamera saloon, the Sport Turismo keeps the roofline horizontal longer to grow rear headroom and luggage space marginally. It also adds a squeezy middle-seat in the second row for the first time, Porsche dubbing it a 4+1.

Substitution between the two Panamera would make sense considering how similarly sized and specified they are. The biggest differences are in the looks and the higher prices for the Sport Turismo.

“We are focussing [with the Sport Turismo] on customers who want more flexibility,” said Utsch.

“The loading edge is much lower, it is 14cm lower, and that makes a big difference if you want to get stuff in it.

“For me personally the biggest thing is you can get five people in the car because of the 4+1 seat configuration. And me having three children, it is the first time ever the opportunity to drive with the Panamera. Then, of course, it’s a question of design and we get positive feedback,” he stated.

But Utsch played down the impact the Sport Turismo’s styling may have, given it has been critically acclaimed as a far better execution than the bloated 911 style of the saloon.

“I think we already did this step you are asking about with the sport sedan we introduced last summer,” said Utsch.

“It was much more Porsche styling DNA with a fast roofline… The Sport Turismo is the interpretation for the shooting brake segment. It’s a question of taste; some people like the Sport Turismo more, some people like the sports sedan more.”

We won’t get to find out how close the local sales forecast is to being accurate for a while, as the Sport Turismo has just started manufacture in Leipzig and isn’t expected to arrive Down Under until 2018.

Porsche Cars Australia public relations boss, Paul Ellis, said the Sport Turismo would arrive here at a time when SUVs were the dominant form of wagon.

“There are a lot more wagon sales in Europe than Australia, so I think a 10 per cent share [for Sport Turismo] is fair,” Ellis said.

As in the global market, the Sport Turismo’s sales would not be all conquests for Porsche in Australia, Ellis predicted.

“This car will appeal to a high-end Cayenne buyer because of its flexibility and extra space,” he said.

“It’s a lifestyle thing, being about throwing stuff in the back of the car,” Ellis stated.