**UPDATE: 2 new pics! One shows truck space, other shows very Ferrari-like front end!
A Porsche you say? Four doors you say? What does it look like under the camo?
I’ll get to that after the jump, but first, some background. Porsche has a long history of motor racing and a proud tradition of designing cars for people who enjoy the snap oversteer of ass-engined Nazi slot cars driving. But in 2002, Porsche opened its doors to a new kind of buyer with the Cayenne SUV. Porsche envisioned that this new buyer had a family, presumably with whom he or she lived with near the Arctic Circle where there were no roads and a high ride height was needed to avoid driving over polar bears. Not that Cayenne drivers actually cared about the lives of the polar bears (they do drive SUVs afterall), but polar bears are tougher to get out of your car’s grill than you could possibly imagine, just trust me.
What was at first considered to be sacrilegious to Porsche zealots enthusiasts, quickly became a mainstream hit. Porsche maybe didn’t anticipate that they were reaching the market just as luxury SUVs were taking off. Badge snobs Porsche connoisseurs took to it in droves and made Porsche hugely profitable in the process. So profitable in fact that Porsche now owns 74% of Volkswagen, Germany’s largest auto manufacturer. Quite the about-face from a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy just 10 years before the Cayenne. So the Cayenne turned out to be a very important vehicle for Stuttgart.
But why am I yabbering on about the Cayenne when the title of the article mentions nothing of the sort? Because the Cayenne set the stage for Porsche’s next eyesore/coupe-wannabe/profit margin-buffer vehicle: the Panamera. The first uncamouflaged shot of which we are showing you, our faithful readership. I really hope that both of you appreciate the lengths I’ve gone to get this shot. Follow the jump to check it out!
Borrowed from the fine people at AutoTelegraaf (whatever that is), we bring you the embargo-busting first exterior shot of the Porsche Panamera. The Panamera is Stuttgart’s first four door sedan/hatchback (although PR peeps are likely to call it a “four-door coupe” or some such nonsense) and it is also meant to appeal to affluent families. Available with three different engines, a 300hp 3.6L V6, a 400hp 4.8L V8 and a 500hp twin-turbo 4.8L V8, the Panamera will have the usual six million options. Sadly, there will be no options to hide the ungainly proportions of the exterior.
The interior looks pretty snazzy though, especially if you like buttons!
The Panamera is expected to be available in rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive specs with a front-engine placement. Expect to see more AWD ones in these parts. Porsche purists will deny this vehicle a place in Porsche’s esteemed history because it’s engine isn’t in the wrong place and it has twice the number of doors it “should” have. But don’t listen to them. This car will drive brilliantly and carry you and your family in comfort, if not style. I can’t wait.
