Porsche Panamera, Four Door, Four Seater Grand Tourer

Porsche Panamera: This is a great name for a supercar that will become a trend setter among four-seater coupes, with plenty of power, generous space for four people, and flexibility in use.

At last, Porsche has taken the wraps off the long-awaited Panamera, and the car is as smooth a design as you could want, and very clearly a Porsche.

This new supercar is 6 inches (150 mm) longer and 1.8 inches (46 mm) taller than the Bentley Continental, which is one of the few very high performance four-seater supercars available. However, it is the same length as the Jaguar XF, but about 2 inches lower. Clearly, the Porsche Panamera will have generous space inside.

Panamera looks like typically Porsche

The nose is typically Porsche, with a wide, low grille flanked by a pair of quite large air intakes, a smooth nose without a visible bumper, and fair in headlamps. The grille slopes back, and has a slight bulge in the middle to leave room for the engine.

Side air extractors behind the rear wheels give the car a sporty look, while the length of the car makes it look low. At the rear, the tail bulges upward compared with the 911 to give more interior space, but this looks a Porsche through and through.

Tailgate and folding seat backs

Rear access to the luggage space is provided by a tailgate, and the rear seat backrests can be folded forward to provide more luggage space when there are only one or two people in the car. Without doubt, the Panamera will make a great grand tourer.

Panamera direct injection engines

All Panameras will be powered by direct injection V-type engines similar to those used in the Cayenne, but with power outputs from 300 to 500 bhp. These are built in Porsche's plant at Stuttgart but the bodies for the Panamera are being built by the VW plant in Leipzig, where the Phaeton is built. Incidentally VW is now controlled by Porsche.- and six or seven-speed boxes

Porsche will offer the six-speed manual transmission, but most buyers will surely opt for the twin-clutch sequential seven-speed unit, which gives the advantages of a manual – including good fuel consumption - with the ease of use of an automatic.

Four-wheel drive is standard on the top model in the Panamera supercar range, but is available as an option on other models. Of course, these supercars will be equipped with plenty of electronics to smooth the way ahead.