Porsche drives in its sedan, Panamera

NEW DELHI: Luxury car maker Porsche launched its solitary sedan offering,

Panamera, in the Indian market on Tuesday. Priced at Rs 1.4 crore
to Rs 2.05 crore
(ex-showroom Delhi), Panamera will be one of the fastest cars on Indian roads, with a top
speed of 282 km per hour. The car will be available in three versions — S, 4S and the top-of-the-range Turbo. ( Watch )

Precision Cars India, the official distributor of Porsche cars in the country, plans to sell 50 Panameras in the first year. It has already received bookings for 13 cars, mostly from Mumbai. The 4.8-litre eight-cylinder engine delivers 400 horse power and consumes 11.1 litre of fuel for travelling 100 km.

Porsche currently sells four other cars in India, sportscars 911 and Boxster and Cayman and Cayenne sports utility vehicles. It expects 20% increase in sales in the local market, despite sales dipping in most parts of the world.

Rod Wallace, managing director of Precision Cars India, said, “We have had a tough time in India, too, but now sales are revving up. There is strong demand for high-end products. So we have brought Panamera just after a month of its launch in Europe.”

The company aims to sell 200 cars this year against 168 cars in 2008. Globally, Porsche is expecting to sell 75,000 cars in 2009, down from 98,000 vehicles last year.