Porsche Panamera: Luxurious Darling of Pop Culture
Porsche Panamera: Darling of Pop Culture
The Porsche brand has long been glorified in pop culture, particularly within the hip-hop world. With last week’s release of Future’s new mix-tape Purple Reign, that trend appears to be alive and well. At the 1:38 mark in the title track, he sings: “I bought a couple coupes, I bought a couple Panameras.” Listen to the entire track below:
The lyric, obviously, advocates for ownership of, not one, but many Panameras. While purchasing several versions of this model might be an excess reserved for a select few taste-makers, the message should be relatively clear: the Panamera is a pretty slick whip that’s worth buying.
And it’s not just Future who has been touting the Panamera as a four-wheeled object worthy of flaunting. A while back, Complex ran a feature that highlighted celebrities who own Panameras; the list includes the likes of Kid Cudi, Big Boi, Dwight Howard, Jim Carrey, and Gwen Stefani, just to name a few.
Last year, I wrote a post about the Panamera that focused on the vehicle’s history, some of its specs, and a video review round-up. If you’re interested in those aspects of the car, I would suggest checking out the article. But, for this post, I want to offer a few reasons, to my mind, why the Panamera has gained traction in pop culture’s contemporary imagination.
1) Aesthetics: OK, this has always been one of the biggest sticking points with enthusiasts of the Porsche brand. Basically, the knock on the Panamera was that it looked atrocious. Of course, those critiques were always overstated. Regardless of their truth, though, Porsche responded to these complaints by tweaking the overall design in order to create a much sleeker and sportier vehicle. Since the car’s inaugural year in 2010, the transformation has been noticeable, as the below images demonstrate (click on image for large view):
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And if those images are not enough to change your mind, the 2017 version (which will be the “official” second-generation of the model) looks to have undergone an even more extensive makeover that has critics and reviewers salivating.
2) Power: When you think of Porsche as a sports car, you, no doubt, think of the 911, Spyder, and, perhaps, the Cayman. Granted, the Panamera isn’t a model that immediately comes to mind when car dorks have discussions regarding acceleration and top speeds; but that omission speaks more to the shortsightedness of the speaker than to the abilities of the vehicle. Take, for instance, the numbers recorded for the Panamera Turbo S. Boasting 570 horsepower, this version goes from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and reaches a top-speed of 192 mph. Let those numbers sink in for a moment because they outperform 15 of the 21 available 911 models, according to Porsche’s site, and every Boxster, Cayman, Macan, and Cayenne. If you’re seeking track-worthy numbers, there’s definitely a Panamera out there for you.
3) Back Seats: Do you have a crew? If not, do you want a crew? Well, Drake has a crew, so I would assume that you too would like a crew. And this much I can tell you: if you want to impress them (or future crew members) with your Porsche, it’s not going to happen in a Cayman (which has no back seats) or a 911 (which has back seats that will only accommodate human beings with no legs). Check out the interior shots below that display the Panamera’s spaciousness (click images for larger view):
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The two-two seating arrangement is spectacular and the red stitch on black leather combination in the images above demonstrate how you can customize your Porsche experience down to the smallest detail. Although, I should mention, the color scheme that I offer as a visual aid is pretty amazing.
4) The Badge: Duh. It’s a Porsche! Buying one of these vehicles will immediately situate you within a rarefied community to which most people will never come close.
If still you’re not convinced that the Porsche Panamera has transformed into a much sought after vehicle, I urge you to watch the short video clip below:
Yes, my friend, that’s Kanye West rolling up with Kim Kardashian to the 2013 Céline fashion show in Paris, FRA in a matte black Porsche Panamera Turbo. When Yeezy endorses a product, I suggest you follow suit.
If you’d like to check out one of the Porsche Panameras we have in stock, stop by Prestige Imports, located between Wadsworth and Kipling at 9201 West Colfax Avenue. You can also schedule an appointment with someone in our Sales Department by calling (833) 825-5423. Until then, spend some time with that new Future mix-tape.
