24th June 2014

Porsche Panamera

So today, Tuesday, it is an unexpectedly lucky day. A good friend of mine who has returned from Melbourne for a short break called me during breakfast, if you have read the previous post on the Panamera he was the one who owned the white Panamera which we got busted by a speed camera. It was very kind of him to drive me yet again in his Panamera while we were hanging out and catching up.

This time I paid closer attention to the way the car performs.  I am not sure what model this one is but it is a naturally aspirated (I believe it is a V6). Even though I have gone faster before this car’s acceleration really stuns me due to the fact that it is a really big and heavy car, I will admit I was trying to hold my bladder each time my friend floors the gas, the excitement does physically draw things out. Most of the Panameras I know in Kuching are pretty quiet even if they accelerate fast but in this Panamera my friend got the sports exhaust. Bless him! I mean what is the point of a fast car when you don’t have the noise.

The guess the only thing I am still not used to is the number of buttons on the center console, having so many buttons makes it feel like as though we are an actual speed rocket which probably what Porsche was trying to make us think it is. On the good side the buttons are not messily placed about and they are easy to press and despite being rather sophisticated it does look to impress. It is elegant and very posh.

It was fun; the only sad thing was the traffic and the fear of speed cameras which slows us down. Hopefully one day I could get the chance to test drive a Panamera. I’ll be sure to bring up a review on that.

Thowback – 2013 Porsche

Porsche Panamera Turbo

In Kuching, one of the most popular luxury fast cars is the Porsche Panamera. I can say I can spot at least one Panamera without fail in a week. Most of them are brown and personally I find that to be of an odd color for a sporty fast car. I was fortunate enough to get into the Panamera twice. One was last time when my friend took me for a spin in his white Panamera and it what really stunned me was for a considerably big car it can really fly! I mean we hit around 170kmph in just seconds. I know there are supercars that can do way faster but what an incredible acceleration for a big car with quite a big boot, four seats, a big engine and a roomy cockpit. I was at one point “OH MY GOD!” and holding tight in my seat with adrenaline rush when my friend was accelerating hard and manually shifting the smooth dual-clutch gears. That was indeed fun and that fun ended up with a speeding ticket. I guess we were going so fast that we didn’t spot the police behind the bush with the annoying speed camera with a 70kmph limit on a nice stretch. The stock Panamera is said to be very quiet even though it has a big powerful engine but my friend nailed that problem thanks to a custom exhaustand so that is a good thing.

The second time where I got to actually have a detailed look was last year around August where I was having a barbeque party at my friends house and her Dad happened to own another Panamera, which is another brown. So my friend was kind enough to lend me the keys to have a look and take some photos of the big but immensely fast German car. When I first saw it on the Internet the pictures and the prints the car looks really low and sleek, it looks amazing, however when I got to actually meet it face to face it is actually big and quite bulky. If I’m honest it is not one of the best looking four door cars since Porsche announced this car is designed to be like the 911s. The front looks fine but the back somehow looks very round like the end of a loaf of a French loaf. I mean there are many other cars that you can buy that looks better, sportier and even more elegant than this car for example like what they showed in Top Gear of the Aston Martin Rapide and the beautiful Maserati Quattropotte.

However, the Panamera is overall cheaper and in my case less expensive than the Aston Martin and the Maserati. It is also proven faster and more powerful than the two. The main thing I like about the Panamera is that it is actually a proper Porsche which when you first look at the design of the exterior it has the distinguish Porsche looks. Inside, it is very well made and sophisticated. It is easy to access in or out of the car; you just have to mind your head especially the back doors because of the curve structure. I guess the main problem I was not used to when I was sitting on the front seats were the numerous buttons on the center console. For any normal car we have the air conditioning, radio and some safety feature buttons which are friendly and distinguish to operate, but the Porsche I did get quite a few question marks in my head what some of the buttons do. I guess if you are going to own one do read the manual first before driving it.

Overall, the Panamera is a good everyday car if you’re the one who loves driving fast and if you would like some room to move about. As a plus, this car has a big boot so it means if you are the shopping type you can plenty of space to put your shopping bags or your groceries. It’s around 15 cubic feet of space there! On normal mode, the Porsche really is comfortable thanks to the adaptive suspensions. Hopefully the next time when I do get to test a Panamera I’ll definitely post something about it.

P.S. Please stay tuned as I have a surprise mostly about supercars this coming two months. I’ll try post them as soon as possible. Cheers and Happy Saturday!

Throwback – March 30, 2013

Kuching Supercars gathers at Swinburne University Sarawak Campus

As you might know I study at Swinburne Sarawak Campus here in my home town. Usually you don’t get much news of supercars rolling in for a show in Universities but the amazing fact was last March 2013 it actually happened right at my Uni.

The University was holding a carnival with games, dance performances & food. The Kuching Supercar Owners Club actually came to join the fun along to capture the eyes and bring the crowds of students, lecturers and staffs. I was a little disappointed all the supercars didn’t fully turn up. Usually there are more supers like the F430s, 458s, Audi R8, Ferrari 599s and Bentley Supersports. However, it was the first time I actually had a good detailed look around the arancio atlas Lamborghini Aventador. We also have the two Lamborghini Gallardos and a Ferrari F430 Spider. Then we have a couple of Porsches like the Cayman and Panamera and a Bentley Flying Spur.

I was there like 80% of the time in the Swinburne Carnival to admire, taking some pictures and talking to people about the cars even though it was a really hot there and I was sweating mad but looking and chatting with friends and strangers was a real joy so I didn’t care and the other 20% of the time is food and join some of the games.

I seriously hope they do this gathering at the University more often although disappointedly this year 2014 there wasn’t any supercar gathering during this year’s carnival. I pray the next coming carnivals the owners can bring these gorgeous cars. It’s nice to see loads of people crowding and just admiring cars even though not all of them are car fanatics. This event was definitely one of the most memorable of the Kuching supercar gatherings I have ever been although there were not many of them.

It’s late but big thanks to Swinburne Council and The Kuching Supercar Owners Club in making this wonderful event possible.

P.S. More to come on the Kuching Supercars Owners Club.