How to fit a Porsche Panamera into an elevator
When we first saw and rode in the 2009 Porsche Panamera, a lot of questions came to mind -- none of which was whether it would fit into an elevator. But with the Shanghai auto show in full swing, sending a Panamera to the top of the city's World Financial Center was one of the first orders of business for Porsche's PR folks.
Granted, the elevator wasn't of the typical human-carrying variety, but even a skyscraper's freight elevator isn't designed to fit a car -- let alone a full-size luxury sedan. But that didn't stop Porsche. The automaker used a specially designed rig to turn the car vertical. With only inches on either side to spare, it was almost as if the elevator was designed to fit the Panamera.
The undertaking took place on Sunday, coinciding with the unveiling of the car at the Shanghai show. The vehicle was taken to the 94th floor of the 101-storey structure, which happens to be the second-tallest building in the world. At height of 1,394 feet, the car arrived at the lowest of three public observation levels. We're a little disappointed the car was not brought up to the famous glass-floored "Observatory Bridge," which takes up most of the 97th floor. We can only assume the building's engineers advised against that idea.
(Shanghai WFC image by Flirckr user 'franck-chilli').
