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Hi friends As above. I'm considering a BMW 740i 3-litre or a Porsche Panamera 3-litre. Any comments? I also welcome any other suggestions. Thank you in advance.

Porsche has just announced that it is filling out the remainder of its Panamera lineup with the addition of a V6-powered model that will be available with either rear- or all-wheel-drive. Starting price for the RWD V6 Panamera will be $74,400 while the AWD Panamera 4 will begin at $78,900 (plus destination). Wondering how that compares with the V8-powered Panamera S? Let's look at some numbers. The 3.6-liter V6 puts out 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, which is a decrease of an even hundred horses and 74 lb-ft from the 4.8-liter V8. Each buyer will have to decide for themselves whether those hundred extra ponies are worth a $15,400 surcharge. Porsche's seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) dual-clutch transmission will be standard equipment in the V6 Panamera, along with such necessities as an electric moonroof, power liftgate and the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system with navigation. According to Porsche, the V6 puts 66 fewer pounds over the front axle, resulting in an overall weight of 3,880 pounds. Auto Stop/Start technology ought to help the V6 Panamera eke a few more miles from each gallon of gasoline, and though official EPA numbers are not yet available Porsche says the car will not be subject to a gas guzzler tax.

It seems that those who have been making fun of the Porsche Panamera with their 911-stretched-limo jokes may just have to eat their words. The latest Porsche Panamera S now has a 3.0-litre bi-turbo V6 powerplant where the 4.8-litre naturally-aspirated V8 used to be. But don’t let that put you off though, because this is another belt-tightening affair that easily eclipses the figures of its predecessor. The car now delivers a maximum output of 420bhp and 520Nm of torque - 20 horses and 20Nm of torque more than the previous model - and it'll sprint right through the 100km/h mark in a respectable 5.1 seconds. Impressively, this is achieved without compromising on its fuel consumption, boasting some 18 percent improvement in fuel economy over the preceding V8. While it takes more than just a keen eye to spot the changes in front, changes to the rear are slightly more obvious. The rear windscreen has been widened while the wider spoiler and redesigned taillights have been installed for a sportier character. More notably, the rear license plate now receives a lower mounting position. Although clumsier than its two-door siblings, the new V6 engine in the Panamera S ticks all the right boxes. It feels impeccably well-honed for the job, even if it lacks the throaty rumbling characteristic of the V8.

Normally, when news of a new Porsche breaks out, I don't really pay much attention. To me, they all seem one and the same, with either more power, or less equipment, or stripped out for racing. It's like a ready-made news template. However, when I read about the new Panamera Turbo S, I took a while to catch my breath. The Panamera is most definitely a love-it-or-hate-it car. While I'm not exactly a fan of its looks (as are many people I'm sure), I actually quite like the idea of a Porsche that can carry a family of four in comfort (albeit a rich family). I feel pretty much the same way about the Cayenne SUV as well. The Panamera Turbo S, which was revealed by Porsche this week, is the fastest Panamera model yet. And it certainly packs a hell of a lot of punch, going by the figures released. 542bhp makes it more powerful than Mercedes-Benz's own powerhouse luxury performance sedan, the S63 AMG. But the most astonishing figure is that the Panamera Turbo S can rocket from 0-100km/h in just 3.8 seconds, even faster than the stripped-down, hardcore Porsche 911 GT3 RS. This is a car that weighs well over 1.8 tonnes, remember. Top speed is rated at a pretty amazing 307km/h, a speed which unfortunately will not be seen anywhere except for the derestricted German Autobahns, or if someone is mad enough to take this hefty sedan around a race track. This car is definitely going onto my list of "cars I have to try before I die".

Hofele Design is a German company that does tuning on Porsches, Volkswagens and Audis to name a few. And this time they have decided to try and make the Porsche Panamera look slightly better. Take a look at the picture above and you can see that they are showing it with some boats. Or Luxury Yachts if you were being analytical about it. The Panamera Rivage GT 970 is what Hofele Design is now calling it and from what I can see, the yachts are still more streamlined looking than the body kitted Panamera. Anyway, the GT 970

Porsche has come up with designs for its Cabriolet version of the Panamera. Usually, a cabriolet design would bring happy smiles for people who have money flowing out from their pockets because they can buy the same expensive car, without the roof. Cabriolets are more like accessories rather than thoroughbred supercars. The Panamera Cabriolet won't even qualify as an accessory, its more like Ugly Betty dressed up as a man. Its just worse... The Americans can do stylish 4 seater cabriolets like the 1960s Lincoln Continental, such cars become timeless classics, objects of desire and beauty. But this, the Germans have got it all wrong. As you will probably see in the other article by another blogger, SYF77, the new Cayenne looks even worse. And this Panamera doesn't disappoint the ugly department. Moreover, the engineers have to suffer by trying to find ways to stiffen the whole car since the roof has come off and to design that roof which extends from the boot to the windscreen and not to mention the amount of boot space that will be taken up by the roof when its topless. It all doesn't seem to go well with this 4 door convertible business. To me, the Panamera Cabriolet is like having a Mercedes S Class without a roof. Its rather pointless, and totally irrelavent. It doesn't make sense to take off the roof of such a huge car for starters, and the whole point of taking the roof off is to make the car look better, which it doesn't. So thats that. Case closed. The Panamera is a car I'd want to forget, and if I had Panamera Cabriolet money, I would rather buy a Ferrari 599.