Porsche plots Panamera GT

Two-door coupé at planning stage

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 23 November 2005 / Loading comments

Porsche Panamera: is a shortened version the new 911?

A GT is on the cards from Porsche, if a report in this week's Autocar comes true. Making a sixth model line, the new performance GT, which will compete with the likes of the Bentley GT Continental and the Ferrari Scaglietti 612, is effectively the new 928.

It's unlikely to appear before 2010, however, and is only at the planning stage so far. It was hinted at by Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking, who told the magazine that there were other niches which Porsche could fill. It might be called the Panamera GT.

Based on the underpinnings in the design stage for the next rev of the Cayenne, the car would be front-engined and have either four or rear-wheel drive as options. It'll be a shortened, two-door version of the Panamera, speculated Autocar -- although that begins to sound like a 911 with the engine at the front.

Hybrid transmission and a petrol-fuelled V8 are likely, although a V6 from the next Cayenne is a possibility. It being such early days, there's no certainty on prices but it'd have to slot in around 911 Turbo money, close to 100k, with the V6 version somewhat below that.

One slightly scary thought: if the Panamera is a stretched, four-door 911, is a shorter, two-door Panamera a candidate for the 911's final replacement?