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Take two brand new German thoroughbred sportscars collectively worth more than $550,000 and do a lap of Australia travelling through some of the harshest terrain on earth. But after 33 days, 44 drivers, 4567 litres of fuel and 19,76 km the two Porsche Panameras survived their first real encounter with local conditions.
The Right Round Down Under trip started in Melbourne on September 1 and ended back in Melbourne on October 1, the official on-sale date of the Panamera. The two Panameras, accompanied by a 3.0-litre V6 Cayenne diesel, did not miss a beat in their month-long adventure. They successfully negotiated everything from pristine highways to rugged country roads and talcum powder soft sand.
The German pair also managed to avoid an assortment of stray wildlife from lizards to wild horses. Ambient temperatures ranged from close to zero on the windswept Victorian coastline to a searing tropical 40C in Darwin.
Porsche Cars Australia managing director, Michael Winkler, says the trip has been as much a journey about the interesting people encountered along the way as it has about the new Panamera itself. These characters included a 91-year old grandmother, Mary Taylor, making her 18th solo drive around Australia, Harley Davidson-riding bikies with long beards stopping for a chat, cyclists pedalling across the Nullarbor, a honeymooning German engineer involved in the Panamera's development and a string of Porsche customers sprinkled around the country.
Porsche's first luxury four-door car showcased its touring qualities by averaging 10.9 litres/100km in the S and 12.2 litres/100km in the Turbo. Rather than just launch the car, Porsche aligned the trip with the Make A Wish Foundation. At various stops around the country Porsche teamed up with the foundation to allow seriously ill children the chance to take a ride in the Panameras long before customers were given the opportunity.
Porsche spokesman, Paul Ellis, says it is hard to put a cost on the impact of the rides on both the children and the communities in which they live. "It would have been easy to just do another standard launch for the car," Ellis says. "But we felt the Panamera is no ordinary car and it isn't just a new Porsche."
Ellis says the trip had the full backing of Porsche Germany and says some of the company's European executives were a little jealous of their local colleagues The tour also visited all 11 Porsche Centres on the mainland, giving staff and enthusiasts the chance to share in the experience. The trip was the most ambitious event ever undertaken by Porsche Australia. It retraced some of the route taken by the very first Porsche a 356 Coupe imported into Australia, which successfully completed the famous 1953 Redex Trial.
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