Porsche’s all-new four-door coupé – dubbed Panamera - is almost here. Sources inside Porsche indicate the car is currently undergoing an extensive testing marathon all over the world.Thankfully that means lots of spyshots for us. These pictures were taken by our U.S. based photographers during a routine test in Georgia.
The Panamera is expected to officially debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show and compete strongly against the Mercedes CLS and the coming-soon Aston Martin Rapide.
Of course being a Porsche, the Panamera shares some design elements with the 911, but essentially this car is significantly different to the rest of the Porsche stable. For a start, this is a front-engined car, something that doesn’t sit that well with Porsche purists (Porsche has moved the engine as far towards the centre as possible).
The Panamera range is expected to include three engine choices, Volkswagen’s 3.5-litre six-cylinder engine which develops a healthy 223kW and Porsche’s own direct-injection eight-cylinder petrol engines, available in naturally-aspirated guise (261kW) and with twin-turbos (417kW).
There is of course the possibility of Porsche doing a special edition Panamera with the GT’s 500kw+ V10 engine.
With four full seats, easy access to the rear and a luggage compartment of around 450 litres, the Panamera is aimed at those with practicality in mind. Porsche plans to attract new buyers to the brand.
The Stuttgart based company believes the Panamera will sell 20,000 units annually upon its release in 2009, which will see Porsche sell over 100,000 cars per year.
