Porsche Panamera

Porsche engineers are currently finessing the all-new Panamera, the first Porsche sedan in history. The car is scheduled to appear next year, and Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Durheimer promises it'll drive like a proper Porsche, delivering benchmark performance and handling in the luxury-sedan sector.

Durheimer says the Panamera, which will be assembled at the Leipzig plant that currently builds the Cayenne SUV, has been developed from a clean sheet of paper. "It's not often you get the opportunity to do that," he says. "It means we've not had to compromise." Durheimer claims the rear seat offers roomy accommodations for six-foot-plus adults.

The Panamera will likely be powered by a modified version of the Cayenne SUV's 4.5-liter V-8 and 3.6-liter V-6 engines. Logic suggests the car also will be made available with a version of the forthcoming Cayenne hybrid system. The engines will drive the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission, although sports versions may be available with a six-speed manual.

The Panamera is a big step for Porsche, which for decades has been toying with the idea of building a sedan. Pininfarina extended a regular 911 by 7.5 inches in 1969 to add an extra set of doors, but the weight increase killed performance. The 911 C/20 of 1970 was a massive 13.6 inches longer than the coupe, but looked hideous. A one-off four-door 928S was built in 1984 as a 75th-birthday present for Ferry Porsche.

Porsche's most serious attempt at a sedan was the stillborn 989, a car developed in the early 1990s under the direction of former R&D chief Ulrich Bez who, ironically, is now at Aston Martin where he is pushing the development of the Panamera's most obvious rival, the 2010 Rapide. The 989 was similar in concept to the Panamera.

Porsche has funded the $1.2-billion-plus Panamera development program on its own and expects worldwide sales of at least 20,000 a year.