In a move that would seem like something more suited for Maranello than Stuttgart, the German sports car builder Porsche is preparing to offer the Panamera->ke1840 with a choice of personalization programs for the luxury sedan. Porsche Exclusive, which is available now, and the more functional Porsche Tequipment that will follow in September. With a move like this Porsche is opening themselves up to the likes of luxury shoppers while offering the same proven performance that they instill in all their products.

The Porsche Exclusive package comes with the obligatory body colored trim pieces on the outside and the ultra plush Yachting Mahogany interior. Perhaps Porsche wants you to feel at home cruising around in this land boat, but everything from the unique aluminum PDK shifter to the 10.5 Liter cooling box between the rear seats allows you to travel in unheard of levels of style and comfort. Every interior surface imaginable is covered in top-grade leather while every piece of trim is a beautiful combination of dark mahogany with light maple inlays.

Porsche Tequipment offers all kinds of racks and attachments for the Porsche roof transport system carrying various kinds of leisure-time equipment. There is also a lightweight aluminum bike rack that can fit up to three bicycles for the four occupants as well as the optional tow bar. Inside Tequipment offers first class products like an official Panamera child seat and steering wheel made from either wood or carbon fiber. Of course there are also an assortment of rims. With a move like this Porsche is opening themselves up to the likes of luxury shoppers while offering the same proven performance that they instill in all their products.

Press release after the jump.

Press release

Through Porsche Exclusive and Porsche Tequipment, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, enables the customer to refine and personalise all Porsche models individually and exclusively to his or her particular wishes beyond even the sophisticated range of standard features. The new Panamera is no exception to this rule, again giving the customer the option to turn the car into a truly unmistakable one-off masterpiece by means of Exclusive features fitted straight at the factory or Tequipment components fitted later by the dealer.

In personalising Porsche’s new Gran Turismo, the focus is not only on using the very best materials such as leather, wood, aluminium or carbon, but also and in particular on their perfect finish. The most important principle applied by Porsche Exclusive is therefore craftsmanship of the highest standard perfectly tailored to the individual customer. Which, wherever necessary, also means stitching and threads applied with painstaking care by hand.

The many years of experience offered by the specialists at Porsche Exclusive come out particularly in the manual finish of top-quality wood perfectly highlighting the individual character of this sophisticated material. Yachting Mahogany, an inspiration from exclusive yacht building, is particularly exquisite and is available for the Panamera only through Porsche Exclusive & Tequipment. Light maple-wood inlays in dark mahogany provide a stylish contrast, the Yachting Mahogany Interior Package with trim panels on the dashboard and the doors as well as trim covers on the centre console all upgraded in this beautiful wood therefore offering an absolute highlight in the Exclusive & Tequipment range.

Grab handles on the roof lining as well as the three-spoke multifunction steering wheel (without maple-wood inlays) in Yachting Mahogany form a perfect match, adding the final touch to this unique finish.

Within the interior, Porsche Exclusive again offers a wide range of further options. The louvers on the air vents, the sun visors, the interior mirror, the trim cover on the steering column and the seat console front and rear, for example, are all available in top-grade leather. The Interior Package, in turn, comes on request with individual elements and components finished in body colour, including the louvers on the air vents and even the key to the car. The Porsche logo on the headrests, an option very popular on both Porsche’s sports cars and the Cayenne and available on either the front or the front and rear seats, is obviously another absolute must for the Panamera.

Models with double-clutch transmission, the PDK Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, are available with a gear selector lever in unique design made of aluminium. The instrument faces and the Sport Chrono stopwatch come on request in Luxor Beige, Indian Red and Carrara White providing particular highlights in colour. As matching elements, the seat belts are available in Silver Grey or Indian Red. And last but not least, the truly discerning customer has the choice of illuminated and non-illuminated door cutout trims proudly bearing the respective model designation and made of either carbon or brushed aluminium.

Yet a further highlight in the wide range of Exclusive and Tequipment features for the new Panamera is the cooling box with a capacity of 10.5 litres positioned between the two single seats at the rear. Switching on and off on demand, the cooling box reduces temperatures to approximately 6o C for cool refreshments whenever desired. Two stylish glasses bearing the Porsche logo and the name Porsche naturally come together with the box.

The new Porsche Panamera is available straight from the factory with Porsche Rear Seat Entertainment, a newly developed entertainment system comprising two high-resolution seven-inch colour displays integrated in the backrests of the front seats, as well as individual players and two cordless infra-red headsets. The leather-covered display consoles each come with a USB interface, while the whole system is controlled by touchscreen operation. Immune to vibrations, the Porsche Rear Seat Entertainment System plays both DVDs and CDs in maximum quality, with connections for two separate, individually controlled AV sources as well as a game console or an iPod®.

The sporting and elegant look of the Panamera from outside may be further enhanced by air intake grids at the front finished in body colour as well as air outlet grids in the car’s wings behind the front wheels also in body colour, plus the lower rear panel and diffuser again finished in the same colour as the car’s body.

Meeting even the greatest transport demands efficiently and conveniently, Porsche Tequipment offers all kinds of racks and attachments for the Porsche roof transport system carrying various kinds of leisure-time equipment. A rear-end bicycle rack made of aluminium and finished in matt black is also available, fitting on to the optional towbar at the back of the Panamera and safely transporting up to two bicycles. With its optionally available extension, the rack can even accommodate up to three bicycles whenever necessary.

Apart from new Porsche child seats, a complete set of cases and bags tailored to the luggage compartment and a 12 V cooling bag, Tequipment also offers a wide range of audio and communication features for the new Panamera, interior packages, steering wheels in carbon or wood as well as a special wheel and tyre combination for summer and winter driving ranging in size from 18 to 20 inches, all for individual retrofitting on the car.

Starting immediately, the Panamera Exclusive Catalogue is available at all Porsche Centers, with the Tequipment Catalogue following in September 2009. Information on the full range of Porsche Exclusive & Tequipment is already available to interested customers today at all Porsche Centers.