The Demo Site

Big? Yes. Beautiful? No. Porsche tests the mettle of its loyal fans once again.

 

After years of waiting and dozens of sightings by car spies, we've finally gotten our first non-grainy, camouflage-free official look at the first performance sedan in Porsche's history, the Panamera. And, well, let's put it this way: if you can handle the Cayenne SUV, you can probably handle the Panamera.

Not that we love it. Indeed, we're not going to sugar-coat things here: some of us flat-out hate the look of this big, flat-nosed, bustle-backed five-door. The more diplomatic among us are cautiously optimistic that the Panamera will merely take some getting used to. It's the same swirl of controversy that surrounded the introduction of the Cayenne, which initially all but sent Porsche purists to the psych ward, but has ultimately become respected, if not loved.

The 500-hp Hatchback

"The symbiosis of sports-car DNA derived from the looks of a coupe, the unique interpretation of the classical sedan body and the benefits of a variable space concept give the new Porsche a truly unmistakable appearance." That's how Porsche describes the Panamera, and we probably couldn't come up with a more flattering choice of words ourselves. Certainly, it couldn't have been easy for Porsche to translate trademark 911 elements onto a front-engine, four-door body without giving it a nose as tall and blunt as that of the BMW 7-Series, and for that, we think Porsche deserves some credit. We also enjoy the fact that the Panamera's high level of performance will be coupled with the innate practicality of a hatchback.

 

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