Porsche is set to unveil a concept of its four-door Panamera at Frankfurt… Züffenhausen’s super saloon will take on BMW’s M5 and Mercedes’ CLS 63 AMG with a range-topping model powered by a detuned version of the Carrera GT’s 5,7-litre V10.
Porsche is set to unveil a concept of its four-door Panamera at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September… Züffenhausen’s super saloon will take on BMW’s M5 and Mercedes’ CLS 63 AMG with a range-topping model powered by a detuned version of the Carrera GT’s 5,7-litre V10.
According to German magazine , the Panamera’s bodyshell will be produced in Austria by Magna Steyr. The bodyshells will then be transported to Leipzig, Germany, where the Panamera will be assembled alongside the Porsche Cayenne, with which it will share much of its powertrain. The Panamera will be fitted with the Cayenne’s 4,5-litre V8, in turbocharged and normally-aspirated forms, and an adapted version of the 448 kW 5,7-litre V10 currently offered in the Carrera GT supercar.
As can be seen from CAR automotive artist Duwyne Aspeling’s impression, the Panamera will be a four-door fastback coupé in the vein of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, which was recently made available in South Africa and, as CARtoday reported recently, will soon be available with a brand-new normally-aspirated 6 208 cm3 AMG-designed V8 producing 375 kW at 6 800 r/min and peak torque of 630 N.m at 5 200 r/min, in the upcoming CLS 63 model.
The Panamera will be front-engined, and will share its platform with Volkswagen, which looks set to introduce its long-awaited BMW 5-Series rival, codenamed the C1, in the near future.
The platform – engineered for rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive – is also expected to underpin the second-generation Phaeton range, a luxury crossover to take on Mercedes’ R-Class, and perhaps even a Bentley (a model below the Flying Spur).
Although the Panamera will break cover at Frankfurt, production is not expected to begin until 2007 or 2008. However, the Boxster-based Cayman S coupé, of which CARtoday.com reader Graeme Ryley spotted two prototypes in Park Rynie, south of Scottburgh, in March, will start rolling off Porsche’s assembly line next month.