The Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo just won one of the most coveted automotive awards in Europe. At the 42nd Annual Golden Steering Wheel awards, the Porsche was crowned Best Sports Car of 2017. The event, known to some as the automotive Oscars, was thrown by auto magazines Bild am Sonntag and Auto Bild. This year’s ceremony took place at the Axel Springer publishing house in Berlin.
The selection process begins with 42 new models voted on in five different categories by millions of magazine readers. After the votes are tallied, 20 finalists are put on the Fiat/Pirelli test track in Balocco where 53 judges get to work. These judges are then divided into 8 specialist groups ranging from editors-in-chief to celebrities. This year’s judges included racing driver Mick Schumacher, television presenter Barbara Schoneberger and musical group “The BossHoss.”
The 550-horsepower twin-turbo all-wheel-drive sedan beat out seven top sports cars including the Acura (Honda) NSX and the Aston Martin DB11. It was awarded first place by five of the eight specialist groups.
Rally legend Walter Rohl, one of the judges, offered up the following praise: “Every Porsche is a true sports car, as the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo impressively demonstrated in Balocco. It offers plenty of space, is suitable for everyday use and yet is still an absolute knockout on the racetrack. In particular, the steering precision is phenomenal!”
After winning the award, Gernot Döllner, Vice President Product Line Panamera, was gushing with pride.
“For the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo to win such a prestigious award in the sports car category means a lot to Porsche, and makes me personally very proud,” he said. “The Sport Turismo is a unique combination of performance, comfort and everyday practicality. The courage that Porsche showed in bringing to fruition a concept that is unique in this segment has been rewarded with this Golden Steering Wheel triumph. I would like to thank the readers and the panel of expert judges.”
The Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo goes zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds with a top speed of 190 mph. That’s a lot of performance out of car that seats four and looks like a grocery-getter.