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By
EWAN KENNEDY
1 December 2008
The first official photographs of the Porsche Panamera have
created a huge stampede of interest. Not only amongst enthusiasts
of the legendary German sports cars, but also with all those who
like quality performance cars from any marque.
The
first instruction to the designers was that the Panamera had to
look like a Porsche. A statement that might not make sense to
those with no particular interest in cars (poor souls!) but one
that means everything to people who care about marrying tradition
with modernity.
Frontal styling has been
kept impressively low despite the fact that a V8 engine is under
that sloping bonnet. A long roofline is obviously necessary if you
are going to carry four passengers, but the Porsche designers have
kept the door sill high and the waistline low to keep the
appearance low and sleek. At the rear the roof goes a long way
back to join tall rear glass that certainly keeps that traditional
Porsche look.
Interestingly, Boxster-type
side-rear air scoops that were a feature of early styling sketches
of the Panamera haven’t been translated into the production
model. Rather, large vents in the front guards, which continue
along the doors, add to the aforementioned low-and-sleek look.
This
is a big car, at just under five metres overall it’s longer than
a Commodore or Falcon. So although Porsche hasn’t released any
interior pics at this stage we are inclined to believe the
assurances that this is a genuine four-seater.
Power
will come from modified versions of existing powerplants seen in
the Porsche Cayenne SUV. That is to say there will be V6 and V8
units on offer. These range in output from 300 to 500 horsepower
(220 to 368 kilowatts in Australian terms), so the big sports
saloon will certainly have plenty of get up and go. Porsche is
calling it a GT (Grand Tourismo) rather than a sports model, but
we suspect that it will have no shortage of handling prowess, even
in extreme mountain-road conditions.
A
six-speed full-manual gearbox or Porsche's new double-clutch,
seven-speed PDK unit will be available.
Rear-wheel
drive will be the normal transmission setup, but in true Porsche
tradition there will be optional all-wheel-drive setups.
A
hybrid version of the Panamera is also on the agenda.
Porsche
won’t give us details of Panamera's debut, other than to say it
will be in “the European spring of 2009”. First Australian
deliveries are scheduled to take place “early in the fourth
quarter” of that year.
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Marque Publishing Company
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