In September, I wrote about the Porsche Panamera Gran Turismo, which is scheduled to make its official debut during the March 2009 Geneva Motor Show.  Well, Porsche has just released the first official photos of the new Panamera, and I must say, the four-seat four door is lookin’ pretty good from where I sit. 

What do you girls think?  You can click on the photo to enlarge so you can get a much better look.

According to the press release I received, Panamera designers wanted to be able to do something new while retaining the looks of a typical Porsche and I think they may have succeeded. The Panamera measures 76 inches wide and 55.8 inches in height, making it wider and lower than other comparable four-door models.  It comes with strongly contoured air intakes instead of a conventional radiator grille and V-shaped seams along the hood. 

The Panamera features folding rear backrests, which make room for luggage space.

Porsche has developed powerful and up-to-date engines for the Panamera.  The V-engines come with six and eight cylinders and output ranges from 300 to 500 horsepower. Some engines use turbocharging technology and direct fuel injection, making them both fuel-efficient.

In addition to rear-wheel drive, the top version of the Panamera is also available in optional all-wheel drive, while Porsche is also preparing a fuel-efficient version of the Panamera with hybrid drive. Further details on engines, transmissions, performance, prices and equipment are scheduled to be disclosed sometime in the spring of 2009.

The Porsche Panamera will be built at Porsche’s Leipzig plant, where a 237,000-square-foot production hall and a logistics center currently are under construction. While the Panamera engines are built at Porsche’s main plant in Zuffenhausen, painted body shells will be supplied by Volkswagen’s Hanover plant. The Leipzig plant will then assemble the Panamera for final delivery, with an annual sales target of about 20,000 units. Porsche is once again cooperating with German suppliers, with some 70 percent of the car’s components being created in Germany.

The Panamera will make its world debut in spring 2009 and the first models will be available in the United States in the fall of 2009.

I really like the look of this car do you?

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