As expected the Panamera will most likely share a similar front to the rest of the Porsche lineup, however the car is inherently different to the rest of the German stable.Unlike the 911, the Panamera is a conventional front-engined rear-wheel drive that will become Porsche’s Grand Tourer. The car will be put together in Porsche’s Leipzig facility with the engines originating from Stuttgart and the car’s painted shell crafted in Hanover by Volkswagen.
Porsche will compete directly against its German and Italian rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG and Maserati Quattroporte. There is also the possibility of taking sales away from the Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin Rapide and even the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti .
Porsche insiders have said the Panamera range will include at least three engine choices, Volkswagen’s 3.5-litre six-cylinder, 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).
The space available inside the car offers a brand-new experience of roominess. The two sporting and comfortable single seats at the rear will allow adults to relax with surprisingly generous headroom, in full comfort and, if they wish, with all the performance and speed of a genuine Gran Turismo.
Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, will also be building a hybrid drive version of the new Panamera. This four-door Gran Turismo with sporting driving dynamics so typical of Porsche will boast the proven components featured in the Cayenne Hybrid entering the market at the end of the decade. And thanks to its newly developed full parallel hybrid, Porsche’s Sports Utility will offer average fuel consumption of less than 9 litres/100 kilometres.
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