November 22, 2008

BREAKING: More Porsche Panamera Pics and Specs

A tip of the hat to supercars.net is in order this Saturday. Thanks to them, three new pictures of Porsche's Panamera super-sedan have hit the web ahead of its official Monday reveal.

Dutch auto mag
AutoTelegraaf has already broken the press embargo, so we're joining the herd a couple days early.

The Panamera is a large car by any means; 16.3 feet long, 6.3 feet wide and 4.66 feet tall, with a wheelbase of 9.6 feet.
Weight hasn't been disclosed, but somewhere near 3800 pounds for the V8 model seems likely.

With today's leak comes new design revelations. Heat extracting vents in the front fenders are flanked by deep scallops reminscent of the Carrera GT, breaking up an otherwise bulbous form. The jury is still out on the Panamera's bulbous back end; as yet, I'm not a fan. Design quibbles aside, it's hard to argue with a 0.29 coefficient of drag.


Back in September, we covered the basic tech specifications. A 3.6-liter V6 and 4.8-liter V8 engines with be available, with a 500+ hp twin-turbo V-8 reserved for the top of the line Panamera Turbo.

Porsche's dopple-kupplung dual-clutch gearbox will be available on all models. A V-6 hybrid variant with 350 hp is expected by 2011.


All-wheel drive will be standard on the Panamera Turbo, along with an electronically controlled air suspension system. Whether rear or all-wheel drive, all Panameras will include a helical limited-slip diff as well.

A brief programming note: Next week's news coverage will be punctuated with a few gaps as the Thanksgiving holiday nears. But stay tuned for our reviews of Mitsubishi's i MiEV electric city car and VW's new Jetta TDi clean diesel sedan.

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