After back and forth, and months of months of over-analysis, Friday morning i jumped in and made the change. New 911 is coming, and have had the C4S for 2 years, which is about my attention span for cars it seems. Found the perfect 2011 black/black Panamera Turbo for me - it has all the features I had to have, including Burmester, XM (that traffic feature is so useful in Los Angeles), Sport Chrono package, ventilated seats (got to love that on my 911), backup camera, and 911 Turbo II wheels, among others. One feature I didn't know was standard was the keyless entry, which I didn't think I would like, but I actually love.
The push to move to this car really was precipitated by us getting a 2011 Cayenne Turbo (for my wife) and how much I have enjoyed the interior and ergonomics, as well as power. I have found myself asking her to swap cars a lot, and we have been using that car together at night, as we used to take my car to dinners, social functions, etc... We mostly took the Cayenne Turbo, so it seems the writing was on the wall.
The driving dynamics of this car are not the 911 (weight, etc...) but I truly love the feeling of the Panamera Turbo and the freight-train feel of it when you really step on it.
If anyone is out there in the market, with some effort, you can get great deals on these cars, and my trade-in of the 911 was also painless. They are always in demand, and you can get out pretty clean.
This PTT is a pure joy to drive and am excited to drive it every day...that is worth a lot to me! I have attached some exterior pictures.

 

Congrats, that's a great color/wheel combo for the car. Enjoy, I have about one week before my PTT gets delivered. Can't wait....

 

Thanks - you will absolutely love it. It is such a perfect car...after driving them all, there is no luxury/sport sedan like it. It is a the only thing out there like it. Truly a 4-door sports car.

 

Looking good and couldn't agree more... It really scoots!

 

Great to know that it worked out well and you did not take a big bath on your 911. When I briefly flirted to trade in my C4S (mSRP'd at 127K) the dealer offered me little over 80K for a sub 10K mile pristine 911 and that was the end of that idea. PTT from every account here on 6speed seems to be a beast.

 

Yeah...I was a bit worried, but in So Cal, a black/black C4S cab with 20k miles and full leather, loaded, etc... was ok...cost me about $4,500 to get out a year early...I was happy with that.

 

perfect car, congrats!
And i agree, it is THE ultimate family rocket!

 

Congrats on the car!

Since you now have both a Cayenne and Panamera Turbo can you please compare the two? My wife wants a Cayenne Turbo but I'm looking at a Rover Autobiography to replace her current vehicle. Having two 4-door Porsche's just seems like over kill to me.

 

You know, when we got the '11 Cayenne Turbo, I fell in love with the interior, and my 2009 911 C4S cab felt somewhat spartan inside...PCM was similar, older generation, no Sat radio, no XM traffic, etc... and actually yearned for the same interior plus a larger car as a daily driver...that led to the Panamera acquisition. Having both interiors/nav systems/stereo systems being mainly the same is a really nice thing, so when we go from one to the other, buttons are all in the same places, and makes it so easy. We have programmed both cars the same for both of us, and it is a pleasure. They have done these cars properly.
That being said, we also test drove the RR full sized supercharged for a few days and actually hated driving it...I really wanted to like it (this was before we got the Cayenne Turbo), but it didn't have any driving dynamics and although the interior was nice, it was just a huge vehicle (height, mostly) and handles terribly. I knew I would hate it, and my wife would too, since it would be mainly hers. That being said, we have the two perfect cars for our purposes now, and we will probably get a sports car next year as a 3rd car when the new 911 comes out, but we'll see.

 

I also traded my 2009 9114S and my 2011 cayenne turbo for a 2011 Ptt. This thing is crazy awesome! I did not think I would like it as well as I do. I thought I would miss the Ctt for daily driving but it handles well in the snow also and much more fun to drive. The dealer bought out my Ctt lease and I got blue book trade in price for the 911 (both had 6000 miles) along with 8% off on aPtt that was my build. I have had alot of high end and never seem to be satisfied but this one seems to have it all. I also want to thank you guys for helping me make my mind up to trade the Ctt for the Ptt.

 

Quote of the Day: "the freight-train feel of it when you really step on it"

The 970 TT feels a little different than the 997TT, doesn't it?

 

Last week, I actually had a guy come up to me at a red light on Sunset Blvd here in LA after he was trying to keep up with me in his 997.1 TT. He was smiling and smiling, and motioned for me to lower my windows...he said "how do you like that car? I really need to drive one, don't I?." I responded that he will love it, and his 2 kids he had crammed into the back of his 911 will love it even more.
This car gets so many looks and so many comments. I have only gotten positive comments (perhaps the negative comments are more "silent."
Even though the looks are so polarizing, I love driving this car each day, and the entire experience is so fun. The performance, the interior feel, the layout, the wheels, the view out of the ****pit. It just makes you feel great. I can't remember a luxury sedan giving me this feeling, aside from the Continental Flying Spur I had, which didn't have the driving dynamics this car has.
The Panamera Turbo has a sense of occasion to it, which is what I think makes a car feel truly special.

 

i finally saw the PTT in person. Two in the past week at work with 30day tags. Both covered with road salt/spray from the snow we recently had. Couldn't stop staring at it and how great it looks.

 

Best of luck and enjoy.

 

Congratulations! The Panamera was really bad mouthed when it came out, but always looked like an amazing concept. Good to hear such positive feedback.