Indian Autos blog

We are not Ford or Tata and this is how we retain our exclusivity. Having said that, we know that India is primarily a chauffeur-driven market and back in Germany, the company recognizes the fact that very often a customer is not willing to wait long before buying a vehicle.

In an interview with Carwale, Mr. James Bourne, Regional Operational Manager, Porsche Middle East talks about the exclusivity of Porsche cars.

Minutes back, Porsche launched the all-new Cayenne in India. Prices range from 59.22 lakh to a whopping 1.27 crore rupees. Press release and official images will follow. Stay tuned!

All prices are ex-showroom Mumbai

Cayenne – 65.82 lakh (3.6 liter V6 – 296 hp)

Cayenne S – 78.62 lakh (4.8 liter V8 – 395 hp)

Cayenne Turbo – 1.27 crore (4.8 liter twin-turbo V8 – 493 hp)

Cayenne DIESEL – 59.22 lakh (3.0 liter V6 TDI – 237 hp)

Cayenne S Hybrid – 75.46 lakh (3.0 liter V6 – 375 hp)

click through to read more

As we reported earlier Porsche would be launching the 2011 Cayenne in India at the end of this month. Prices are expected to start at approx 65 lakhs and go all the way up to 1.2 crores.

Reports suggest that the company is now planning to locally assemble the car at Volkswagen’s Chakan plant. Sources indicate that the company is contemplating on taking the CKD route for its SUV which is currently imported as a CBU from Porsche’s plant in Germany & thus attracts high import duties.

This would bring down the cost of the Cayenne drastically as the import duty would go down from the current 113% to 40%.

Ashish Chordia, CEO of Porsche India -

Porsche stands for ‘Made in Germany’ quality, and currently there are no plans of either assembling or manufacturing Porsches in India

The Porsche Cayenne accounts for 65% of the total sales of the company & is thus a significant model. Archrival Land Rover is contemplating on locally assembling their SUV’s. Porsche could very well take advantage of their parents’ plant in Chakan for assembling the Cayenne in order to give it a competitive price tag. If this happens, it would India would be the 1st place outside Germany to assemble Porsches.

The second generation 2011 Porsche Cayenne sports SUV has been launched internationally and it is reported that bookings for the Porsche SUV have opened in India already.

The car is expected to be officially launched in India between 22-27 July, 2010. All the five engine options that are available internationally would be offered to the deep-pocketed Indian buyer, including the diesel and hybrid versions.

The Cayenne is the first ever Porsche to come with a diesel engine. This 3.0 liter TDI diesel engine comes from Volkswagen. The hybrid version of the the Porsche Cayenne uses a 333 hp 3.0 liter petrol from Audi paired with a lithium ion battery powering an electric motor to produce 47 hp.

The Porsche Cayenne range starts at Rs. 65,82,000 for the base variant and stretches up to Rs. 1,27,10,000 for the top of the line Turbo that comes with a twin-turbocharged 4.8 liter V8 producing 493 hp and 700 Nm of torque. This 4.8 liter motor is shared with the Porsche Panamera Turbo.

Porsche is also reportedly developing a mini-SUV which could be called the Roxster and would directly compete with the likes of the BMW X3, Audi Q5, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and the Land Rover Discovery.

2011 Porsche Cayenne Range -

Cayenne Base – 3.6 liter V6 – 296 hp

Cayenne Diesel – 3.0 liter V6 TDI – 237 hp

Cayenne S – 4.8 liter V8 – 395 hp

Cayenne Turbo – 4.8 liter twin-turbo V8 – 493 hp

Cayenne Hybrid – 3.0 liter V6 – 375 hp

click through to see image gallery

Can’t see the slideshow above? View all the images directly at the Porsche Panamera Interior Image Gallery

Direct Link - Porsche Panamera Unveiling and Presentation Image Gallery

Porsche today unveiled the luxury saloon Panamera here at its Mumbai dealer showroom this morning. The event was attended by a few selected auto journalists handpicked by Porsche and IAB was proudly a part of that lot.

Mr Rod Wallace, MD of Precision Cars India (PCI) the Indian wing of Porsche, Mr Allan Marriage Technical Head of PCI explained to the press the development of the Panamera through a audio-visual presentation. Following that, the car was unveiled sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Later IAB managed to have a one to one with Mr Allen Marriage who said that India is turning into a hot spot for performance vehicles and he was looking forward to more sports car makers foraying into the country.

IAB also managed to chit chat with Mr Rod Wallace who stated that already 13 Panameras have been booked before the launch and they expected to surpass the target of 50 cars for this year easily. Three new dealers with fully equipped service stations will soon begin operating in Chennai, Ludhiana and Bangalore.

Mr Wallace said the Panamera is a “Super Luxury car” which also happens to have all the traits of a sports car. He claimed the genes of the 911 were buried deep in it and was responsible for the 4.3 second 0-100 run!

Porsche Panamera prices in India ex-showroom inclusive of VAT and duties

Panamera S:

Ex Delhi : Rs. 1,41,74,000
Rest of India: Rs. 1,44,36,000

Panamera 4S:

Ex Delhi: Rs. 1,47,11,000
Rest of India: Rs. 1,49,83,000

Panamera Turbo:

Ex Delhi: Rs. 2,01,84,000
Rest of India: Rs. 2,05,58,000

click through to read the detailed press release

The Indian debut of the Porsche Panamera takes place on the 1st of next month in the country’s financial capital. Though the prices or the trim levels have not been confirmed, it is widely believed that the base model will set you back by a cool 1.4 crore rupees.

As we reported earlier, Porsche has a target of 50 Panameras this year and the company has already managed to convince 13 buyers to book one even before its official unveiling.

We’ll bring you more information and high resolution photographs from the launch floor on October 1st, so stay tuned.