by David Finlay (28 Jul 05)

Porsche has given the go-ahead for the development and production of a new "premium class Sports Coupé" called the Panamera. Technical details are not thick on the ground, and there isn't a whisper of possible pricing, but that's understandable since the Panamera is not scheduled to go on sale until 2009.

Some information, however, is available already. For a start, the new car will be built on a new platform rather than on anything Porsche has used before. This is presumably why the Panamera is being described as the company's "fourth model series" after the 911, Boxster and Cayenne - the recently-announced Cayman S is built on Boxster underpinnings and doesn't count as a series in its own right. Porsche also says that this is not a joint venture: no other manufacturer will be involved in the development of the Panamera's platform.

As both the design sketch (pictured above) and Porsche's description of the car clearly show, the Panamera is a sports model, and therefore much more closely aligned with the 911 and Boxster than the Cayenne. But it shares one feature with the Cayenne, namely the fact that the engine is in the front, something not seen on a sporting Porsche since the design that started out as the 924 and gradually evolved into the 968.

These were the cars that were meant to replace the rear-engined 911, which has in fact outlived them by many years, but one thing to be said in favour of the Panamera is that right from the start it is absolutely a Porsche product - the 924 was designed by Audi and gained its new badge very late in the day.

Quite what power unit will appear under the bonnet of the new car isn't being made clear. Porsche speaks simply of "various engines". Whatever they are, they will drive the rear wheels but not the fronts; there's no talk of a 4x4 option at this early stage, and the idea of a front-wheel drive Porsche would still be enough to drive most enthusiasts cross-eyed. The basic layout allows for four seats, and since the Panamera will also have four doors it's reasonable to expect that rear passenger space will be acceptable. Better than in the 911, anyway.

Porsche is known to be one of the most dazzlingly successful business in the motor industry, and the company likes to point out that the €1 billion euro cost of bringing the Panamera to market will be paid for entirely out of its own funds. The car will be available worldwide, and Porsche says it expects to sell at least 20,000 annually.

Why "Panamera", by the way? It's an abbreviated reference to the Carrera Panamericana long-distance race in which Porsche was so successful many years ago. As you'll have spotted already, the same event gave its name to the Carrera versions of the 911.

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