The 2008 Porsche Panamera

A four door, four seater sedan from Porsche. With this fourth model line to be called Panamera, purists can now drive this baby with gusto. The Panamera will be a "sport-coupe in the premium class with four seats and four doors.

It will be a hatchback using existing component modules and a brand-new platform and sheetmetal. The Panamera will be built at the Leipzig factory alongside the Cayenne. No doubt, Porsche is watching sales of the Mercedes-Benz CLS very carefully and sources are estimating an annual production doubling over 20,000 units a year worldwide! Not bad.

This sleek, rear-wheel-drive four-seater is powered by not-so-basic Porsche parts that includes a 4.5-liter V-8, either the 340-horsepower version, or the optional 450-horsepower turbocharged engine. A hot 500-horsepower version may eventually follow. The new chassis may be similar to the one that produced the Cayenne.

Porsche will show a concept of this vehicle at the Frankfurt auto show later this year. But the production vehicle is expected for the 2009 calendar year.