Porsche Panamera Turbo faster than Cadillac CTS-V on Nurburgring

2010 Porsche Panamera

By Thami Masemola
July 13, 2009 6:02 PM
Filed Under: German, Nürburgring, Porsche

Sport Auto reports that a Porsche Panamera Turbo piloted by the legendary Walter Röhrl has lapped the Nurburgring 3 seconds faster than the supercharged Cadillac CTS-V posting a time of 7:56 minutes. As quick as this is, it goes to show what a good value proposition the Cadillac is. At US$59,995 it costs less than half of what the Panamera Turbo costs. Even more impressive regarding the bang-for-buck proposition is that the two other rivals in the Panamera's segment, the Aston Martin Rapide and the upcoming Audi A7, are not expected to be any cheaper than the 564hp (415kW) Caddy.

Porsche itself has not released official Nurburgring times but if these are accurate then the Panamera will officially replace the Cadillac as the fastest production sedan on the 'Ring . CTS fans may take comfort in the fact that ‘Ring times are highly affected by such things as rubber grades, the weather and other factors.

Over the past year or so Porsche has been embroiled in a battle with Nissan regarding the latter's claim that its GT-R is the fastest production car around the Green Hell. This might be a new avenue for Porsche to stake its claim.

Source: http://www.sportauto-online.de via motorauthority.com

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Tags: Porsche Panamera Turbo, Porsche Panamera, Cadillac CTS-V, Cadillac CTS, Audi A7, Aston Martin Rapide

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Comments

astonmartindbrs09

July 13, 2009 6:13 PM

God its an awful looking car. It has no appeal what so ever.

Dlaor

July 13, 2009 10:14 PM

I agree, the Cadillac is hideous.

Get_real

July 13, 2009 10:31 PM

lol Dlaor!

EDavis

August 7, 2009 10:57 PM

I personally believe that the styling of the Panamera will one day grow on me...

like a festering cyst on the back of my neck that needs to be lanced with a rusty icepick.

EDavis

August 8, 2009 12:00 AM

I hope that Porsche, a builder of sports cars since the late 40s, doesn't expend too much energy in celebrating this um...miraculous achievement, in building a car that goes around a racetrack faster than a far less expensive competitor. It was not until the introduction of the 2004 (2003?) CTS-V that Cadillac finally decided to build a car for the true performance enthusiast, i.e., a car that could actually go around corners. For Cadillac, a manufacturer whose primary customers even to this day are those who want to travel to the golf course in no particular hurry while being cosseted in an over-stuffed ocean liner, being beaten by a Porsche on a racetrack is something I'm sure they won't cry over.

Hold on...what's that? Did somebody say that Cadillac actually defeated Porsche (911s, not Panameras!) in a road racing championship series?

Copy and paste this:

http://www.gm.ca/gm/english/motion/cadillac/features/article/1234543600992

Well I guess Cadillac just got tired of the [American made] Corvette hogging all of the Porsche-beating and LeMans-winning glory.

Edited by user on August 8, 2009 at 5:14 AM

N20_Purge

July 13, 2009 6:14 PM

People say that this car will grow on you. I'm gonna have to go with Jeremy Clarkson and say it won't. It looks too ugly to grow on me.

trailer

July 13, 2009 6:36 PM

It is made for Dubai only

petrolhead_sotos

July 13, 2009 6:44 PM

It looks very fat to me. Especially at the rear end. It needs 20" wheels to make it look normal.

MTC

July 13, 2009 6:52 PM

I still prefer the Caddy CTS-V than this, or a XFR, or a XJ, or a Alpina B7, or a S63

HEMI426

July 13, 2009 6:59 PM

I saw this on top gear yesterday, everybody says it drives very sport and good. I wish it was just a true sedan. And a turbo version with 2wd would be nice also

EMBJATI85

July 13, 2009 7:00 PM

i dont think its ugly it reminds me of the 928 in a way but the caddy is still a better value and is faster to 60

catchmyshadow

July 13, 2009 7:05 PM

just shows what a terrific piece of engineering that is. the CTS-V is lighter and got 50 BHPs more and still is no match for the pana.

amirbooboo

July 13, 2009 7:20 PM

cadillac is the king++

dbehmoaras

July 13, 2009 7:21 PM

The caddy looks way better. I would not double my budget for a 3 second difference on an 8 minute track. I would go for the caddy and buy myself a Z06 while I'm at it.

July 13, 2009 8:41 PM

"Over the past year or so Porsche has been embroiled in a battle with Nissan regarding the latter's claim that its GT-R is the fastest production car around the Green Hell"

What about the ZR-1, didn't it beat both those cars?

muhaidib

July 13, 2009 9:04 PM

"the Aston Martin Rapide and the upcoming Audi A7, are not expected to be any cheaper than the 564hp (415kW) Caddy."

Are you seriously comparing a CTS with an Aston Martin?

mtnplay

July 13, 2009 9:13 PM

Seriously, you have to be some kind of yuppie shmuck to buy this car, Porsche is taking you for some kind of fool and riding on its name. Put another name like Daewoo on this car and it would get panned and join the ranks of the Pontiac Aztek. I almost break out in laughter everytime I see photos of this thing.

Dolomight 74-86

July 13, 2009 9:26 PM

Being only 3 seconds Faster around the ring than a CTS-V isn't an accomplishment its an embarrasment. In otherwords its like saying my porsche may be slower than the cadillac if it has the same driver in it. 3 seconds out of almost eight minuts is well within the statistical margin of error. First the gt-r now this. Porsche really fell off from its 959 days... Also the back of this car looks like it belongs on a subaru leagcy outback not on a porsche!!!

rsrtampa

July 13, 2009 9:30 PM

Its also uglier and way more expensive than the Caddy...NEXT

tom43

July 13, 2009 10:36 PM

Come on. The Panamera is by its size one class above of the CTS-V. The CTS competes to the 5-series, E-class and A6. But here we are talking about cars you can compare with S-class. Take place on the rear-seat of the Panamera and then on the CTS-V. It´s another world, sorry.

Carbon_Dew

July 14, 2009 12:04 AM

People don't realise how big the Panamera is compared to the CTS in this comparison... Though it does look hideous!

Bristol411S3

July 14, 2009 12:37 AM

I thought the Panamera on Top Gear on Sunday looked quite good. I have to say video images are making it look better than static images. I'll reserve final judgement until I see one in the metal.

Razz

July 14, 2009 1:06 AM

Cadillac is ok .. but in my opinion, never you will have the same satisfaction in saying that you own a Cadillac instead of a Porsche. And, finally that's all .. because also a Yaris does well the need for transport, but the more you have money, more you will spend them on cars (as a passionate). Also the TT RS has aprox. the same performances of the SL500 .. but you can't tell to an SL fan that he could buy the TT because it's cheaper. This is also with the Caddy vs Porsche. I'm with the Porsche (GT3) in this VS :).

Edited by user on July 14, 2009 at 1:07 AM

Imasa

July 14, 2009 1:29 AM

I' m curious to know who here has seen it in person before commenting.

motorjedi

July 14, 2009 3:49 AM

The usual German suspects (Audi, BMW, Merc) have been suspiciously quiet. Especially since the real super-saloon battle was started by them. I'll bet the RS6 saloon would hammer both these cars into oblivion, but thankfully, they don't seem to care. Good. Keep it that way. I'm quite confident next year's M5 will do the same.

I'm not a particular fan of either of these cars, but the obvious choice of the two is the Caddy. Porsche has no shame making a car like the Panamera. It's an example of profitmongering at its finest.

Besides, the Caddy is smaller and in a lower segment than the Panamera. If and when the new GM makes an STS-V, then we'll talk comparisons. We'll talk them again if the Estoque ever comes out.

moon-fades

July 14, 2009 7:02 AM

That's isn't surprising me .. it can beat any American car so easily, b'coz it's German :-)

MusTang

July 14, 2009 8:18 AM

I'm very astonished, i couldn't even belive that Cadillac can be so fast. bravo Caddy if they could to be a rival to Porsche on race track

adz612

July 14, 2009 4:11 PM

OK seriously guys. What is with the really odd comparison? Comparing a Cadillac with a Porsche is like comparing a Nissan Micra with a BMW M3, or George W Bush with Stephen Hawking. Cadillac = built for florida grannies and rappers. FACT Porsche = built for people who appreciate driving and precision engineering. FACT. WCF. I am disappointed....and to top it all off, you threw the GTR in the mix which let's face it, was not a rival for the Panamera. Speaking of which.... Nissan GTR = great car built for people who like bending the laws of physics, but you really won't invite them over to dinner. FACT

Dolomight 74-86

July 14, 2009 9:25 PM

In terms of performance only the 997 gt2 and gt3 are highly upmarket of the cadillac. And comparing anything to Bush is a little unfair. Also the oldskool pimpmoblies of the 70's and eighties are long dead, so the retirementhome/rapper stereotypes probably don't apply to a CTS-v. ADZ612 you gotta understand what a car's target market is, not blatently generalise the caracteristics of the people who buy them.

adz612

July 15, 2009 3:18 PM

Not being funny Dolomite, but I work in the motor trade, so I understand target markets very well, and the simple truth of the matter is nobody in Europe (bar a few idiots with more money than sense), wants a Cadillac. Truth of the matter is, Cadillac considers themselves a Luxury brand, which pretty much went out the window since the 50's. So ok, they built a car that can handle. Bravo to them. One diamond in a sea of coal does not make a brand worthwhile. If you really want a comparison in terms of performance just look at the figures. Porsche 500bhp, Caddy 564bhp. Weight of Caddy 1905kg, Porsche 1970kg. Just looking at those two figures alone, should mean the Caddy should come up trumps, but no, the chassis is nowhere near as good as compared to the less powerful and heavier Porsche, which is why the porsche would leave it for dead on the track and on the roads. Porsche are masters at chassis design and engineering. Cadillac are still learning despite being around longer. When will the Americans learn?

Shark

July 14, 2009 9:54 PM

Once again they both need to be on the track on the same day in order to have a true and fair comparison!

Razz

July 14, 2009 10:16 PM

I agree with adz612 100% !!

1-love-cars

July 16, 2009 8:02 AM

Caddy sucks, it's not a worthy opponent. I wonder how fast the Porsche would go if Porsche developed a 6 liter turbo charged engine. Caddy sourced (not engineered) the best suspension, and brakes in the industry then put a freakn huge engine with a turbo charger. Not much of an accomplishment. Those of you that love the caddys, wait 2 years till they rattle, have electronic problems and sell for $12,000 on ebay.

astonmartindbrs09

July 16, 2009 5:06 PM

at a quick glance at the back lights the car that comes to mind is Ford Mondeo.

Douglas6250

September 24, 2009 9:20 PM

Actually, since the CTS-V did 7:59s on the ring, I just didn't quite get why it's the fastest 4-dr sedan on the ring. Didn't the Audi RS4 did 7:58s long ago?

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