When you think of Porsche, the 911 automatically springs to mind. More than an icon, the distinctive, curved silhouette is now a motoring legend, cementing itself in the halls of automotive design. However, no matter what level of motoring spirituality the 911 has reached, it still can’t be used to pick up a large, flat-screen TV from Jumbo Electronics. And this is where the 2020 Panamera Sport Turismo comes in.
Porsche describe it as a shooting brake, a car body style that originated in the 1890s as a horse-drawn wagon used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game, which by the 1960s had evolved into an estate car with coupé elements. So basically, it could be argued that the Panamera Sport Turismo is a 911 estate – the best of both worlds – pace and space.
Pressure points
What better way to get to know the ‘urban 911’ than by getting lost in the back streets of Sharjah in rush hour? If there was ever a test of man and machine this is it. Google Maps has me driving in a circle around Al Nahda, battling for space on a tight, potholed strip of tarmac against minibuses, vans and Toyota Corollas. There’s nowhere to pull over and the full wrath of Sharjah’s rush hour is upon me, but the Sport Turismo is keeping my blood pressure in check.
It’s a big car: five metres long and 1.9 metres wide, but you don’t feel it. All you notice is the familiar Porsche bonnet, not the large space behind your ears. This makes the shooting brake easy to dodge in and out of Sharjah traffic. After popping a new destination into my iPhone, I finally pick up my pal with his large suitcases, which he pops in the boot no problem – that’s something you can’t say about many sports cars.