2015 Porsche Panamera Hybrid: The perfect cycling car? - The Weekly Driver (press release) (blog)
The first-year team and its exuberant owner, Chris Johnson, secured the use of two 2015 Porsche Panamera S Hybrids as team cars for the biggest race of the team’s short tenure. Subaru is a race sponsor and there’s the usual assortment of manufacturers represented among team vehicles, Kia to Volvo. But it’s a safe bet to assume $110,000 high-performance, four-door hybrid sports cars with 380 horsepower are a first in the sport. a lot of cyclists drive Porsches,” said Johnson, prior to the stage 3 start on Antelope Island State Park. Johnson drove of the Panamera models to the event from San Francisco, with a friend piloting the other. Team cars traditional are wagons or crossovers with substantial interior space and wide rooflines for carrying at least a half-dozen bikes and plenty supplies. Each of the Porsche Panamera vehicles carries three bikes with an unique rack system. “While the Panamera is not a traditional station wagon, it has a pass-through,” said Johnson. I’m sure it was designed more for golfers than cyclists, but as a professional cycling team was are taking advantage of its space. Were using a Porsche-branded racks made by Thule. Although Johnson didn’t calculated his gas mileage while driving to the event, he estimated the Porsche Panamera achieved just under 30 mpg. Source: theweeklydriver.com
