12:30 AM
Following the leak late Friday of a single official image of the 2010 Porsche Panamera, four more images have found their way onto the Web, bringing the total to five. As previously noted, the sedan is expected to compete with the more expensive Aston Martin Rapide and Lamborghini Estoque models. Its narest rival in terms of price point, the BMW CS, was recently canceled.
In September, the automaker released a teaser shot of the Panamera’s characteristically Porsche nose, and until now that was the only official look at the finished exterior. The car measures 16.3 in length, 6.3 feet wide, and 4.66 in height. The car’s unique shape gives it a drag coefficient of 0.29, which is pretty respectable for a four-door sedan.
The entry-level powerplant will be Volkswagen’s 3.6-liter six-cylinder engine with 300 horsepower. The ‘S’ model will deliver 400 hp from a 4.8-liter V8, and the Turbo variant will offer an estimated 500 horses. All models are equipped with Porsche’s new PDK dual-clutch gearbox. According to Edmunds, the base car will come with a sticker price of $127,000. Despite the high price tag, Porsche is planning to sell 20,000 Panameras annually.
Some prototypes — likely the Panamera S — feature dual exhaust pipes and a retractable spoiler similar to the one on the Boxster/Cayman. Other prototypes — presumably the Panamera Turbo — feature quad exhaust pipes and a larger wing. While the finished car’s wing will look much different, we suspect the more powerful variants will have a larger spoiler than the base models.
