Eight hours, one film and several international newspapers later, we touched down in Madrid. An internet-free business lounge meant my plans to catch up on paperwork sank beneath the surface, and a full two hours of heel kicking passed before we boarded our connecting flight to Malaga.
It was well past 6pm by the time our quartet left baggage claim, and given the four-hour time difference, we weren’t ready to turn a GTS wheel in anger just yet. Our genial German hosts had clearly foreseen this, a chauffeur driven Cayenne already waiting to drop us off at the hotel.
Forty winks and a quick shower later, we re-convened to meet our hosts. I quickly struck up conversation with Christian Heiselbetz – Product Line Project Manager for the Panamera – and Eberhard Armbrust – Director of Vehicle Dynamics – with the conversation quickly turning to the Panamera’s all-new All Wheel Drive System. Why, when the pressure on the car was so immense, had Porsche thrown this curve ball into the mix?
‘It’s simply about handling’, crooned Mr Heiselbetz. Fair point, but surely the resultant weight gain would offset this latest installment altogether. The speed with which my eyebrows rose demonstrated that 30kg of weight gain was surprisingly little. Could this car really be just as powerful and manoeuvrable even with the new system on-board?
