While drinking some beers this evening on my Huangpu River-front apartment balcony in Pudong Shanghai, I happened to notice one of the many Chinese TV boats playing a Porsche Panamera preview as it passed by. Intrigued, I grabbed my camera and shot a couple of quick shots before it got away.

Not content with seeing the Panamera defeat the laws of physics on the river, I'll also be bringing you live coverage of all the rest of the hoopla from the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show floor next week.

We don't really understand why Porsche is peddling new photography to those who signed up for direct mail, maybe some implied sense of exclusivity, but they must be spending a fortune on this campaign.
[Porsche Panamera Minisite]

The Porker that finally lives up to its name actually looks like a really nice place to spend time. We dig the four Recaro-style buckets and whatnot, but that's not what we care about, nor what you want to read about. We care about performance.

The base model will be the Panamera S. It uses a 400 HP, 4.8-liter V8 that delivers 0-60 in 5.2 seconds and a top speed of 175 MPH. It'll cost you $89,900 and the ignobility of driving the cheapest version of the ugliest Porsche ever made. Above that sits the$93,800Panamera 4S, which uses the same engine, but uses all wheel drive to drop the 60 time to 4.8 seconds.

Have money to burn, literally, since you were smart enough to withdraw $10 million from your criminal husband's bank account the night before he was arrested? Then the car for you, Mrs. Madoff, is the range-topping Porsche Panamera Turbo. Not only will it flee enraged victims with aplomb at 188 MPH and get to 60 in 4.0 seconds, but it still has 15.7 cubic feet of room in the trunk to store the cash left over after you hand a Porsche sales person a brown paper bag with $132,600 in it.

The press release follows. A special prize for the first person to pronounce "Doppelkupplungsgetriebe" correctly.

PORSCHE REVEALS FIRST PANAMERA INTERIOR IMAGES

Photos Highlight the All-New Gran Turismo's ‘Cockpit for Four' Concept

ATLANTA – February 12, 2009 —-- Today, Porsche AG for the first time presents its Panamera four-door gran turismo interior concept. The much-anticipated addition to Porsche's performance lineup will make its U.S. market debut on Oct. 17, 2009.

With a continuous center console that extends from the dashboard to the rear seating area, the Panamera offers a new spatial concept for the driver and passengers featuring optimal ergonomic seating with individual cockpit-like spaces for all. Its deep seating position and a sport steering wheel help give the driver and passengers direct contact with the road. At the same time it provides a generous, roomy environment with exceptional leg and head room, unique qualities in a sporting machine yet essential for grand touring. This individual seating allows for optimum passive safety.

Porsche will provide countless opportunities for individual interior customization with 13 color and material combinations including four two-tone leather interiors and seven interior trim options including carbon fiber to Natural Olive wood.

An available four-zone climate control system gives each seating area individual control of functions such as temperature, air distribution and venting direction. In the unfortunate event of an accident, front, side and curtain airbags help protect the front occupants, while standard rear side airbags help protect those in back. The Panamera S and Panamera 4S feature eight-way power seats in front with a driver memory package. In the rear are two individual seats with a folding rear console and plenty of room. The Panamera Turbo has power seats with a memory package for not only the seat functions but also the electronically adjustable steering wheel. Further seating customization is available through optional alternatives such as 18-way Adaptive Sport Seats or fully adjustable eight-
way power seats in the rear.

Porsche for the first time will offer from Burmester® — the renown Berlin audio manufacturer — a new ultra high-end surround sound system. With 16 loudspeakers plus a subwoofer (a total of over 2.5 square feet of speaker surface area) and a total output of more than 1000 watts, this new system gives listeners a grand acoustical experience. And like the 2009 Porsche sports cars and SUVs,
Panameras will be available with the latest personal electronic connectivity features, including
Bluetooth for cellular telephones, Universal Audio Interface for connecting personal audio devices, and satellite radio.

The rear luggage area provides up to 15.7 cubic feet of space, enough room for four large suitcases. The tall space enables luggage to be loaded in an upright position, and with the rear seat folded down the luggage space generously increases up to 44.6 cubic feet.

Initially, all Panameras will be available with two V8 engine options, standard seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) double-clutch transmissions and rear- or all-wheel drive. All engines feature Porsche Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) for highest efficiency. For additional fuel savings, all Panameras include an engine stop-start function that can turn off and restart the engine at certain times, like when stopped at an intersection or in traffic.

The rear-wheel drive Panamera S has a 400-horsepower, 4.8-liter V8 engine that can propel it from 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds on its way to a top test track speed of 175 mph. The manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) is $89,800. The all-wheel drive Panamera 4S receives the same 4.8-liter powerplant. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds, achieves a top test track speed of 175 mph, and has an MSRP of $93,800.

At the top of the Panamera lineup is the Panamera Turbo with its 500-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V8. Also featuring the new PDK transmission, the all-wheel drive Panamera Turbo sets a breathtaking 0-to-60 time of 4 seconds flat and a top test-track speed of 188 mph. The Panamera Turbo has an MSRP of $132,600, and all three Panamera models will go on sale in the United States
this October. [source: Porsche]

We have CarScoop to thank for pulling many of these photos off of the truly annoying Panamera minisite. In them, we can see a few new, intriguing details. First of which is the Turbo’s wing, which appears to extend upwards from its cubby at the base of the rear glass before the wings extend outwards to the edges of the glasshouse. That sounds pretty neat and we can’t wait to see video of it in action.

Also interesting is the hybrid drivetrain. That model will premiere some time during Spring 2009, so in the meantime we can only look at the battery location and hope that the extremely rearwards location will lend the vehicle some shadow of the 911s character.

Our favorite model is the brown version. Somehow the unfortunate color combines with the awkward shape to cancel out the negative aspects of both. If we were forced at gunpoint to purchase a Panamera, it’d be a brown one with a white interior.

Everyone was up-in-arms when the Porsche Cayenne SUV was first revealed, but the utility vehicles have been widely embraced and the looks have aged well. But a Porsche sedan? The dentist/plastic surgeon set will go nuts for it because it's an expensive Porsche they can move the family in, but we're less than pleased with the design. From the front it looks too busy, from the profile it looks too long and from the rear it looks too dumpy. Perhaps this is one of those vehicles that gets better with age, but we're not sure if we'll be alive when that much time has passed.

PORSCHE PRESENTS FIRST PHOTOS OF THE PANAMERA GRAN TURISMO Worldwide Debut in Spring 2009 ATLANTA

November 24, 2008 —- Three-quarters of a year prior to market launch, Porsche has released the first official photos the new Panamera. Porsche's unique four-seater was conceived and designed as a four-door grand touring sports car, combining numerous talents in typical Porsche style: sporting driving dynamics, a spacious interior, and the supreme comfort of a Gran Turismo. Joining the 911, Boxster and Cayman sports cars as well as the Cayenne SUV, the Panamera is Porsche's fourth model series.

The Panamera designers have succeeded in positioning it as a brand-new and truly different model while retaining the looks of a typical Porsche. Through its proportions, the Panamera stands out in its market segment: measuring 76 inches wide and 55.8 inches in height, it is wider and lower than comparable four-door models. The unmistakable GT silhouette is created by the car's overall length of 195.7 inches and short, sporting overhangs. In its styling and details, the Panamera follows the design philosophy refined over decades on the 911 and successfully implemented on the Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne. Pure Porsche DNA and comfort for four.

Through its design language, the Panamera establishes a new segment. The symbiosis of sports car DNA derived from the looks of a coupe, the unique interpretation of the classical saloon body and the benefits of a variable space concept give the new Porsche a truly unmistakable appearance. For instance, Panamera comes with strongly contoured air intakes instead of a conventional radiator grille. Striking wheel arches and the long and sleek engine compartment, with the distinctly contoured wings flanking the flat front lid, create the typical 911 "landscape" Porsche customers have appreciated for over 45 years. V-shaped seams along the hood and a rear window that tapers like an arrow to the rear also are characteristic of a sports car. Muscular shoulders over the rear wheels, the sweep of the coupe-like roofline and visible tailpipes again bear the thoroughbred Porsche DNA. An elegant roof arch extends over the generous interior.

Thanks to the unique and sporting architecture of the interior, the car's occupants are able to experience a cockpit-like atmosphere from all four seats. All occupants enjoy supreme comfort in both the front seats and the two contoured rear seats. The luggage compartment easily takes all passengers' luggage; the Panamera's variable space concept with folding rear backrests enables driver and passengers to adjust the luggage space to individual requirements. Finally, the coupe tailgate in the sporting rear end combines everyday usability with stylish elegance. Panamera built in Leipzig; powerful engines hail from Zuffenhausen Porsche has developed powerful and up-to-date engines for the Panamera, reflecting the qualities typical of the brand; the V-engines come with six and eight cylinders and output ranges from 300 to 500 horsepower. Some engines use turbocharging technology and Direct Fuel Injection, making them both fuel-efficient and very powerful. Power flows to the wheels through either a manual six- speed gearbox or Porsche's seven-speed PDK Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, or Double-Clutch Gearbox.

In addition to rear-wheel drive, the top version of the Panamera comes with even more sophisticated all-wheel drive, available on other models as an option. Porsche also is preparing a fuel-efficient version of the Panamera with hybrid drive. Further details on engines, transmissions, performance, prices and equipment will be disclosed next spring.

The Porsche Panamera will be built at Porsche's Leipzig plant, where a 237,000-square-foot production hall and a logistics center currently are under construction. While the Panamera engines are built at Porsche's main plant in Zuffenhausen, painted bodyshells will be supplied by Volkswagen's Hanover plant. The Leipzig plant will then assemble the Panamera for final delivery, with an annual sales target of about 20,000 units. Porsche is once again cooperating with German suppliers, with some 70 percent of the car's components being created in Germany.

The Panamera will make its world debut in spring 2009 and the first models will be at U.S dealers in the fall of next year. Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) is based in Atlanta, Ga., is the exclusive importer of Porsche sports cars and sport utility vehicles for the United States. It is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs approximately 250 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 202 dealers. The dealers, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service. Throughout its 60-year history, Porsche has developed numerous technologies that have advanced vehicle performance, improved safety and spurred environmental innovations within the automotive industry. The company continues to celebrate its heritage by adding to its long list of motorsports victories dating back to its first 24 Hours of Le Mans class win in 1951. Today, with more than 28,000 victories, Porsche is recognized as the world's most successful marquee in sports car racing. PCNA, which imports the iconic 911 series, the Boxster and Cayman sports cars and the Cayenne sport utility vehicles for the United States, strives to maintain a standard of excellence, commitment and distinction synonymous with its brand. ###