We just nabbed Porsche’s all-new, second-generation Panamera sticking its head out of a transport truck in Europe, essentially without any camouflage.
Porsche plans to expand the range of the new Panamera to include three bodystyles: the sleeker fastback sedan with a slanted, almost coupe-like roofline that was spotted here, in both regular and extended wheelbase versions, and a shooting brake-style model, likely to be called the Sport Turismo previewed by the 2012 concept of the same name.
A two-door model in both coupe and convertible iterations to go up against Mercedes’ S-Class Coupe and Cabriolet is also under consideration, according to sources close to the company.
These spy pictures of the production Panamera confirm what we suspected from previous prototypes; that the styling is modeled closely after the concept with cleaner, leaner and sexier lines than the frumpy mess that is the current first iteration of the car.
Codenamed ‘G2’, Porsche’s new family sports car is based on a new, advanced rear- and all-wheel-drive platform, called MSB that utilizes high-strength steels and aluminum, which will do its part to help shave nearly 100kg or around 220 pounds, despite a greater content of luxury features.
Newly developed V6 and V8 gasoline engines, together with V6 diesels and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, will take advantage of the lower weight to offer better performance and improved fuel economy figures. Porsche is also working on a new PDK dual clutch transmission, while a manual option is also believed to be offered again.
Given the state of readiness of the car we scooped here, the new Panamera should make its debut in the coming months and go on sale before the end of the year, at least in Europe.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops
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