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.

BMW cancels production version of Concept CS sedan

In a statement today, BMW CEO Norbert Riethofer said the company will not produce a production version of the Concept CS sedan concept first seen at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show.

"Difficult business conditions and the volatile climate on the market mean that it is as good as impossible from today's perspective to make a reliable prediction of the earnings outcome for 2008," CEO Norbert Reithofer said in a statement.

The production version of the Concept CS would have competed in a small and high-priced market. It's primary competitors would have been the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte.

Production would have been limited, and with sales tanking industry wide, the Concept CS failed to make a case for itself.

"At the moment we do not need that kind of brand shaper", said Reithofer.

The decision was made after a very grim third quarter sales report. The German automaker's return on sales fell below 1.3 percent, forcing the company to focus intently on maintaining a profitable model range.

BMW abandons 2008 profit target
Following today's announcement, the automaker said it could not guarantee its earlier 2008 profit forecast in light of the troubled auto sales market.

Earnings before interest and taxes fell to 387M euros in the third quarter, well below industry analyst's earlier estimate of 574M euros.

The company said it would make additional production cuts to maintain profitability, reducing output by at least another 40,000 units on top of the 25,000 the company cut earlier this year.

To date, the automaker has made a five percent cut in production compared to 2007.

[BMW, AN]

Lamborghini "Urus" concept headed to Paris Motor Show

A week after we posted the first teaser pic of Porsche's Panamera, Lamborghini announced the company will launch it's own four-door coupe competitor.

In an announcement to the press, Lamborghini said it will unveil a concept car at next month's Paris Motor Show that is nearly ready for production.

The front-engined, all-wheel-drive four-door sedan will be Lamborghini's third model line, joining the V-10 powered Gallardo and V-12 Murcielago coupes and roadsters.

Company sources also said that the production version may use a smaller engine than the 5.0-liter V-10 currently used in the Gallardo. In such a case, Volkswagen AG - which owns Lamborghini - may elect to use Audi's 4.2 liter V-8 engine, possibly with direct fuel injection, twin turbocharging or both.

Shortly after Lamborghini released two teaser shots of the forthcoming concept, forum members at CarSpyShots.com discovered that the company has recently trademarked the name "Urus."

This name would fit with the company's tradition of naming their automobiles after famous bulls. Urus was the latin root name for the aurochs, the Bronze Age predecessor to modern domesticated cattle. A species known for their immense size and power, the last recorded live urus, a female, died in in the Jaktorów Forest in Poland in 1627.

Lamborghini plans to build about 3,000 units per year, roughly matching the sales target set by Aston Martin for their Rapide four door coupe. Porsche, by comparison, plans to build 20,000 units per year.

Lamborghini has been doing quite well despite months of dour economic news; global sales have rised to 1,309 vehicles in the first half of 2008, up from 1,238 in the same period last year. Pre-tax profits have soared by nearly a third to 35 million Euros year-to-date; in 2007, the company' pre-tax profit was 47.1 million Euros.

[AN]

2010 Porsche Panamera teaser shot, hybrid model details released

Porsche's released the first official "teaser" shot of the Panamera sedan today, along with early details on a hybrid version.

The Panamera will likely go on sale immediately following its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2009.

In addition to the photo, the German automaker has posted videos online of disguised Panamera prototypes running on various test drives.

Porsche will conduct a direct-mail marketing campaign this fall, targeting current Porsche owners as prospective buyers for the Panamera.

Whether you love or loathe the idea of a Porsche sedan, here's what we know (or can safely assume) about the 2010 Panamera's specifications:

• The car is front engine, rear drive, measures nearly 5 meters long, about 2 meters wide and is estimated to weigh about 1700 kg.

• Three engines will be available at launch: a 300-horsepower 3.6-liter V-6, a 405-horsepower 4.8-liter V-8 and a twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V-8 producing approximately 520 horsepower.

• According to Autobild, the base model is capable of 250 km/h; the 4.8 twin turbo Panamera should be able to manage 300 km/h. All Panamera models will offer the dopplekupplung seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox which recently debuted on the 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera model range.

• The Panamera will be the first Porsche to offer a hybrid drivetrain option, combing the base 3.6-liter V-6 with a 110-horsepower electric motor. Autobild reports that the Panamera will be able to move under electric power alone at low speed.

A second teaser shot is due to be released on October 20. We've included a 1280 x 796 version of the press photo as well as a cropped detail shot for your downloading pleasure. As more information becomes available, we'll bring it to you first at NMM.

[Image Credit: Porsche NA]
[MotorAuthority]