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Wendelin Wiedeking has just recently announced, in an interview with the German motoring magazine Auto Motor & Sport, that Porsche's new four-door coupe, dubbed Panamera, has begun its testing marathon at the challenging Nuerburgring this week--and we have the first pictures that show the real car in full action.

Scheduled for an official presentation at the 2009 Geneva show, the Panamera is expected to be a strong competitor to the Mercedes CLS and the future Aston Martin Rapide, as well as Volkswagen's upcoming four-door coupe.

Though the Panamera takes over design elements from the 911 range, there will obviously be significant differences. While the 911 has always kept its rear-mounted boxer engine, the Panamera will have a choice of three front-mounted motors, although they'll be set back to the center of the car as much as possible.

The entry-level powerplant will be Volkswagen's 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine with 300 bhp, while Porsche's own drivetrain will be a direct-injection eight-cylinder gas engine, available in naturally-aspirated guise (350 bhp) and with twin turbos (560 bhp). That should be enough to beat out the competition for a while. However, should Stuttgart make the CLS even stronger, Zuffenhausen might strike back with the Porsche GT's 700-bhp ten-cylinder powerplant!

The target for the Panamera is to be a true sportscar, while at the same time being a "family car" for every-day use with four full seats, easy access to the rear and a good-sized luggage compartment.

When it hits the road in 2009, Porsche hopes to be able to sell 20,000 units annually--and to jump over the barrier of 100,000 sold cars per year.

 
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Porsche is testing a set of prototypes that not only show the Panamera sedan on a quick course for development-they also suggest that the sportscar maker is planning a fifth model line along the lines of the former 928 coupe.



The first test mules for the Panamera, Porsche's forthcoming fourth model line, are shown here. The front-engined, four-door four-seat sports sedan is hidden under the bodies of a BMW 5-Series and an Audi A8. Porsche plans a market launch for the Panamera in the second half of 2009.



Also shown here are the very first pictures of a potential fifth Porsche model. Expected to debut in 2010, the new model is a front-engined two GT coupe, very much in the tradition of the previous 928. Today the 928's niche is dominated by the Ferrari 599 GTB, Bentley Continental GT, Mercedes SLR, BMW M6 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage.



The GT Coupe will be spawned directly by the Panamera saloon and share at least 60 percent of its parts with the four-door car, including a shortened version of its platform, its engines, transmissions and suspension. Engines are expected to include a range of normally aspirated and turbocharged V-8s and V-10s from 4.0 to 6.0 liters, producing from 300 to 650 hp. It is unlikely that all-wheel drive will be adopted for the Panamera and the GT Coupe.



Our exclusive spy pictures show the GT Coupe as a rather wacky test mule wearing the skin of an old 928, with considerably wider suspension (note the flared wheel arches), stuffed with costly measurement gear and equipped with trick development technical gear. The prototype is equipped with externally mounted, oversize engine intake and exhaust mufflers, along with externally mounted radiators.

 
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i hope they dont make that

 
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you know what, they started diluting the brand when they made that POS boxter in '97 the 318i of Porsche...

 
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looks ugly

 
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POS boxter? It's one of the best handling cars out there, it could be with more power be better then a 911 a lot people have said.

The Boxter and Cayman are very respectable cars... Every one who drives them loves them....

Diluting the Brand... lmao... what a joke

 
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Looks like the Veyron from the back

 
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this sounds like a door *** sayin that hellbent would say

 
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I should Smack you for saying that :P
Dont ever compare the greatest car ever built to a POS like that.
It looks like more of a twisted Scagelleti