What's up with this thing? Looks like a 911 stretch limo or something. Not so good Porsche, especially on the heels of the Cayenne. I think they need new leadership over there.
Link: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/porsche-panamera-image-and-details-leak-out/
Yeah, after seeing that, maybe Im not so bummed about them not being at the Detroit Auto Show...
Joey
V6? really i hope not, or porsche has lost their way
Is it just me or does this look like something of the Hyundai showroom floor?!?!?
Porsche is the most profitable car maker out there. I'm not so sure they do need new leadership.
The Cayenne and Panamerica help make sure there's lots of development money for the 911 and Boxster/Cayman. And while the article does mention a V6, did you notice it's a 300 hp V6? What's wrong with that? It's more than the original 930 had.
I quite like it actually.
and as Keith said, Cayenne + Panamera =$$$
Sometimes people buy Porsche just to say "I bought a Porsche."
That is seriously unattractive. Good thing it'll fund the pretty car's R and D.
Feedyurhed wrote: What's up with this thing? Looks like a 911 stretch limo or something. Not so good Porsche, especially on the heels of the Cayenne. I think they need new leadership over there. Link: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/porsche-panamera-image-and-details-leak-out/
I'm not in love with the looks, but the Porsche leaders seem to be doing the right thing.
Porsches may not be nearly as common as Pontiacs, but the German automaker is making a heck of a lot of dough selling those hot sports cars (and that one SUV they have). In fact, a current study has discovered that Porsche earns an average profit of $28,000 per vehicle sold. What this means is that with each Carrera that rolls off the lot, they have enough money to buy a couple of Pontiacs of their own.
That $28,000 figure "dwarfs the per-car earnings of virtually any other automaker." By comparison, BMW makes about $3,200 per car, whereas Audi gets about $1,580. When you start looking at higher volume vehicles, the figure drops even further, with Chrysler only making $900 and VW netting $400.
Of course, Porsche doesn't push out nearly as many units as Toyota or Ford, so how much money the company makes at the end of the day, in an absolute sense, could easily be a different picture altogether. But hey, $28k is $28k
Apparently I'm in the minority here... I kinda like it.
Looks a lot better here:
http://jalopnik.com/5096844/porsche-panamera-official-photos-details
Guess it I will just have to look at it from the front or back.
I don't know, there are more than a few automakers who risked their reps when they decided to expand out of their core markets. That said, many "exotic" car makers have or will have 4 door sedans that hit the market in the next year or two.
I'd sport it
I still like the way it looks. still not a "true Porsche by most people. If it was gevin to me I'd drive it for a week or so.
Eh
i wouldn't turn one down...
it looks alright to me, but the earlier prototype looked cleaner. If Ferrari can make a few station wagons I don't see why Porshe can't build a few humongous sedans.
If I were forced to chose between a Ferrari wagon and humongous Porshe sedan, the Porshe would win every time
it is certainly a beasty, looks alot more like the original 928 4 door concept than i expected as well...
Porsche has been planning a four door since at least the mid 80's, having two full on design programs prior to the panamera, programs were squashed before production but the late 80's one came allot closer to production , including ordering in massive amounts of parts and pre production set up, that was modified for building of other models when the program was killed. there is no doubt the panamera will be a real porsche, just as every other model with the porsche name on it is, designed in the porsche design shop, built by porsche , despite location of build, and too porsche specs. with the porsche majority share in vw, there will be more "controversal" models than the panamera, there are already designs on the table for a new 914 and 928, and you can bet the vw i4 turbo and possibly even the TDI's will be in the mix at some point..i think its a good thing..
914 design concept:
new 928 design concept:
I had to turn away...
Just to clarify, I had to turn away from the Panamerica. The 928 & 914 concepts are righteous.
the 914 is badass
I'm sure being a porsche that thing will handle. I think it looks funny, but only b/c I'm used to seing the coupes. I just feel sorry for the guy in the back seat who is going to get tossed around. I read about porsche is getting ready to buy finish buying up the majority(75%) of VW and the funny thing is they make only 100,000 cars a year but are in the position to take over VW who makes I think it was 4 million cars a year. A cash cow is a cash cow!
Yeah, this thing just looks disfigured to me. Porsche makes sports cars, and they have a very powerful brand when it comes that market. I didn't get the logic in diluting the brand with the Cayenne, and I don't get it with this. Seems to me that they're selling later brand strength for a few bucks now.
While I don't care for the Panamera at all, the 914 and 928 concepts actually look very cool.
I agree theres a risk of watering down the brand, but with competitors like Audi, Lexus (if the LF-A ever hits production), Acura (if the NSX ever hits production), and others moving in on the 911s territory, why not expand into some of their competitors territory? I'd much rather see Porsche make huge amounts of money with some fast 4 doors than stick to two or three models, have sports cars fall out of favour and end up in dire financial straits (remember the 80s?)
I have faith in the management of Porsche that they'll recognize if they've gone too far and concentrate more on their roots.
Bob
From what I've read in the WSJ porsche wanted to introduce a 4 door because the chinese market is so large. I guess the rich chinese don't drive so it is basically a fashion statement, and it would be difficult to get in the back of a 911. That is why they wanted a 4 door. Or at least part of the reason.
Lamborghini is also considering a 4-door, and they want it to be 1/2 of their sales eventually. Ditto Aston Martin with the Rapide sedan. I think the deal is that rich people have kids, friends, slaves, stuff...or want to be driven around. So the back seat makes sense.
Personally, I would rather they make money on volume by releasing a $25,000 Porsche and selling them with GM-level discounts. 
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