Porsche Panamera: More Spy Shots!

Here are some more shots of the upcoming Panamera during it's testing.

Wendelin Wiedeking has just recently announced, in an interview with the German motoring magazine Auto Motor & Sport, that Porsche's new four-door coupe, dubbed Panamera, has begun its testing marathon at the challenging Nuerburgring this week--and we have the first pictures that show the real car in full action.

Scheduled for an official presentation at the 2009 Geneva show, the Panamera is expected to be a strong competitor to the Mercedes CLS and the future Aston Martin Rapide, as well as Volkswagen's upcoming four-door coupe.

Though the Panamera takes over design elements from the 911 range, there will obviously be significant differences. While the 911 has always kept its rear-mounted boxer engine, the Panamera will have a choice of three front-mounted motors, although they'll be set back to the center of the car as much as possible.

The entry-level powerplant will be Volkswagen's 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine with 300 bhp, while Porsche's own drivetrain will be a direct-injection eight-cylinder gas engine, available in naturally-aspirated guise (350 bhp) and with twin turbos (560 bhp). That should be enough to beat out the competition for a while. However, should Stuttgart make the CLS even stronger, Zuffenhausen might strike back with the Porsche GT's 700-bhp ten-cylinder powerplant!

The target for the Panamera is to be a true sportscar, while at the same time being a "family car" for every-day use with four full seats, easy access to the rear and a good-sized luggage compartment.

When it hits the road in 2009, Porsche hopes to be able to sell 20,000 units annually--and to jump over the barrier of 100,000 sold cars per year.