PORSCHE UK PRICES PANAMERA

Porsche UK is pricing the cheapest Panamera at some £72,266. This price applies to the baseline Panamera S. In South Africa the S should cost around R1.3 million. Up the ladder is the Panamera 4S which has an all-wheel-drive system and retails at £77,269. I expect buyers to part with about R1.5 million for this model if it makes to Mzansi. It has a nice 4.8-litre V8 with 298kW and 500Nm of torque, so it will perform quite nicely.

The Panamera Turbo features a twin-turbo 4.8-litre V8 which gives it around 373kW and 700Nm of torque. In the UK it goes for £95,298 which translates to about R2.1 million in South Africa. Our calculations are not just based on the rand/ pound exchange rate but also on things like import duty, taxes and guesstimated profit margins for the local Porsche operation.

Porsche will launch the Panamera in the UK in September. Porsche Centre South Africa should follow suit round about then as well.