Porsche Comes Clean with 'Panamera'

By Feann Torr - 28/7/2005

When Porsche launched its 4x4 SUV, the Cayenne, there was a mixed response from both the public and the automotive media.

But regardless of the stance people took on the ungainly (but astonishingly quick) Cayenne, it did exactly what it was intended to do - make big wads of cash for Porsche.

Turning around its financial position in the last half a decade has given the German sports car maker the capital needed to invest in new models, and this plan - spurred on by the success of the Cayenne - is now starting to bear some very exotic fruit.

This can be evidenced in the new entry level Boxster-based coupe, the Cayman, which is due to make a big splash at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, which kicks off on the 13th of September.

In addition to the smooth Cayman, Porsche just recently announced that it will create yet another new model due to hit the market in 2009, called the Panamera.

This new vehicle, which we have just one sketch of so far, will be a 4-door, 4-seat grand tourer of very German proportions (smooth and curvy - a bit like the female body) with a front mounted engine - power and torque delivered to the rear wheels. It will compete with other expensive European vehicles such as the Ferrari-engined Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class and the XJ Jaguar range.

In it's press release, Porsche outlined that the new model is a "premium class Sports Coupé with four seats and four doors" which, like the Merc CLS-Class, doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, because coupés or coupes are traditionally 2-door vehicles, as most dictionaries will attest to.

Still, the shape is very coupe-ly, very long and low, and if the early sketch and the computer generated photo are anything to go by it should be yet another very attractive model from Porsche. Furthermore, because of its 2+2 seating nature it's also likely that the interior will go upmarket in a bid to rival other luxury brands.

The Stuttgart-based automaker also explained that the new Panamera sports coupe would be powered by "various engines" - an ambiguous comment if there ever was one.

We can expect a few versions of the Cayenne's 4.5-litre V8 engine to be lurking under the long bonnet of the new Porsche, and possibly even de-tuned versions of the Carrera GT's V10 engine - but there are also rumours that suggest an all-new engine range will make the cut. After all, 2009 is still quite a few sleeps away.

Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, the President and CEO of Porsche AG, had this to say about the highly anticipated new model: "We have indeed taken a lot of time in making this decision. But now we know one thing for sure: The Panamera is the right car for Porsche, as it has all that typical DNA characteristic of a genuine sports car.

"In terms of performance, design, and driving dynamics it meets Porsche's high standards in every respect. Through this Sports Coupé we are making our customers an attractive offer in the top performance segment," Wiedeking said.

Porsche's big chief also stated that the company would develop and build the Panamera completely in house. "We will be developing a separate platform for our fourth model series in Weissach," said Wiedeking. "There are no plans for a joint venture with another car maker. But to ensure the profitability of this new model series we will co-operate more closely than so far with selected system suppliers."

The company is making it abundantly clear that some 70% of the car will be made from parts sourced in Germany, ensuring the new Panamera gets the "Made in Germany" stamp of quality.

Expected to be a well-balanced luxury tourer, the Panamera's name was "derived from the legendary Carrera Pan­americana long-distance race" according to the press release, and it will be manufactured alongside the V10-powered Carrera GT at the Leipzig plant in Germany.

Porsche reckons it will sink more than €1 billion in to the new Panamera model, which includes development costs and updating its assembly lines. And in relation to the company's now positive financial position, it has that "more than Euro 1 billion and will come entirely from the company's own funds."

The German automaker is predicting sales of 20,000 units annually when it launched in 2009.