Porsche Panamera bagged and verily tagged
Newswheel staff :: 14 September 2006 :: Filed under Four-door coupe, Porsche, Porsche Panamera, Europe & UK, US
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Plain Jane Porsche?
Three years ahead of its official 2009 launch date, the first full-body Porsche Panamera prototype has been caught testing. For now, there’s a solitary image orbiting the interweb, but it’s enough to confirm that the production Panamera won’t come close to the concept sketches released by Porsche in terms of sleekness. In fact, it’s a less aggressive shape with a more conservatively raked windscreen than existing four-door coupe designs such as M-B’s E-Class-based CLS…
Above, Porsche’s Panamera design sketch. Below, the real production deal.
Look carefully at the photo (high resolution image here, first published in German rag Auto Motor und Sport) and behind the camouflage around the trailing edge of the rear door you can just make out the classic 911-inspired finish to the side window arc. A large pop up rear spoiler is also clearly visible, although obscured enough to look like a fixed appendage.
The prototype also sports some cladding over the rear body work which distorts the roofline and no doubt hides a sleeker tail treatment. Nevertheless, the overall effect of the production Panamera appears to be that of a fat, middle-aged 911 with a dash of Carrera GT up front. It’s no doubt all in the good name of practicality. But still disappointing if Porsche’s design sketches had you hoping for a dramatic four-door coupe in CLS style. And perhaps not without precedent. After all, the exceptionally lithe and pretty Boxster concept became a rather pedestrian production car.
Linkage:
Auto Motor und Sport homepage
Posted 16 September 2006, by Graeme Barlow
Yes, the car is plug-ugly, but it's not the real Panamera. At this early stage of the development cycle it's obviously a development mule. If the real thing was going to look like that they might as well stop now.