Porsche calls it 'exclusive and elegant'; whether a Porsche Panamera could ever truthfully be called elegant is a matter of personal taste, but exclusive this one certainly is.
The Panamera Platinum Edition, available in Europe from November and due for South African release in the first quarter of 2013, is based on either the base Panamera, the Panamera 4 or the Panamera Diesel.
It's distinguished by platinum silver metallic finish on the air-intakes, the air vent grille on the side designed specifically for the turbo model, the lower half of the side mirrors, boot-lid trim and the rear diffuser, combined with special features and exclusive details.
It will be available in black or white as well as a very dark metallic grey called basalt black, and more conventional metallic grey and metallic mahogany, in each case with a special gloss-black finish on the side-window trim strip.
Many optional extras frequently chosen by Panamera buyers are standard on the Platinum Edition, including bi-xenon main headlights, front parking sensors, automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors and 19” Panamera Turbo alloy rims with the red, black and gold Porsche crest.
MIXED LEATHER AND FABRIC
A new black and beige colour scheme creates a luxuriously understated cabin; unlike previous two-tone trims, the upper part of the dashboard and door trims, the footwells, the backs of the front seats and the loadspace cover are black; everything else is beige.
Mixed leather and fabric trim is standard, full leather an option. Also standard are Power Steering Plus, heated front seats, a sports steering wheel, the Porsche crest on the front and rear head restraints and the “Platinum Edition” insignia on the front door trim strips.
A 180mm TFT satnav touchscreen and eleven loudspeakers with a combined output of 235 watts ensure that not only does this Porsche tell you exactly where to go but also makes beautiful noises along the way.
SA pricing will be announced closer to the local launch but, as a guide, the Panamera Platinum Edition will cost €79 707 (R897 000) in Gernany, while the diesel version costs €82 206 (R925 000) and the Panamera 4 Platinum Edition €87 323 (R982 000).