Defying the times

Porsche's new four-door sports car, the Panamera, promises supercar performance as well as a hybrid engine, writes Toby Hagon.

It may have been Porsche's worst-kept secret, and now the company has released pictures and a few details about its four-door sports car, the Panamera, in what seems to be the start of a strategic campaign for the crucial new model.

To compete with the new and still-developing breed of four-seat sports cars from the likes of Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Lamborghini, the Porsche Panamera is seen as a successor to the 928.

However, the new Panamera is a much larger vehicle and the first Porsche sports sedan with four doors.

Porsche says the Panamera will have "sporting driving dynamics, a generous and variable interior, and the supreme driving comfort of a gran turismo". The pictures released by Porsche show a 4S badge, so it will have all-wheel drive.

It will also be offered with a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain.

In an era when many makers are reducing the size of their cars, the Panamera goes the other way. At almost five metres long and two metres wide, the Panamera is longer and wider than a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon and almost as tall as either.

The Panamera's engine is in the front - not seen in a Porsche sports car since the classic 928.

The subject of intense speculation and paparazzi-like attention from automotive spy photographers, it will go on sale in Australia in the second half of next year.

It joins the 911, Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne as a fourth model in the Porsche performance line-up.

Despite its apparently generous interior, bold roofline and four doors, the designers have injected plenty of Porsche character. The nose and front wheel arches are reminiscent of those on Porsche's most famous model, the 911.

There will no doubt be intense debate about whether Porsche has succeeded with the styling of the Panamera.

The Panamera will be offered with a range of engines, all of which are shared with the Cayenne off-roader. The least powerful will be a Volkswagen-supplied V6 with 220 kW of power.

There will also be at least two V8s - a naturally aspirated version and a turbo model with 368 kW.

There's no mention yet of the Panamera's fuel consumption but expect some impressive figures, especially for the hybrid model.

Porsche is believed to have made a big effort to reduce the weight of its largest sports car, with insiders suggesting the Panamera is faster than even the 911.

Porsche is planning to build 20,000 Panameras a year, an ambitious number given the economic turmoil that's already prompting some car makers to reconsider their plans.

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