[DiREW0LF]

What are your thoughts on it?



Here is the new site...



http://www.porsche.com/microsite/panamera/default.aspx

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[biotechee]

Personally, I think it is fugly... but that's just me.

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[DiREW0LF]

I think so too, at least what we've seen in spy shots. Hopefully the production car isn't as ugly.



I think they are a little nuts with what they are going to ask for it. Supposedly its going to be $125K for the V6 and $159K for the V8 and no price was given for the V8 Turbo. $125K is more than an S-class. I would assume the Turbo is going to be $240K or so to compete with with S65 AMG.

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[spin]

I don't like it at all. The car looks flat! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[unknown4u]

Still a lot better than driving a VW or Audi..... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Lonestar968]

Oh..........my...........God...........



What the @#$%^&* were they thinking?



Just shoot me.



I mean....... I wasn't keen on the Cayenne either but it grew on me........



And I wasn't keen on Cayman........ but now I want one.......



Maybe the PanAm will fit into some wierd little nitch of Porsche-ism somewhere..... somehow.

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[biotechee]

I think it is way over-priced for what it is. If they're trying to compete with the big benz and AMG market, so be it. But I think they would have been better off developing a 4 door designed to destroy the RS6/M5 segment, comparably priced of course. Say something in the $70's to $90's with massive HP and control.

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[DiREW0LF]

If it looked like the renderings then I bet it would sell. I think what makes it look so much different in the spy photos is that its longer so the proportions are a little screwed up. The rendering makes it look like it would be the size of the RS6 or M5.





   

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[ds968]

wow, the photo above looks like the offspring of a Dodge Ram and a Saturn <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

agreed - probably fast as stink though



i did notice they dumped the suicide doors i had seen on other renderings, and went traditional

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[rxter]

Don't like it. I really wish Porsche would spend their R&D dollars on sports cars and leave this stuff to Audi and VW.



I guess that they sold enough Cayennes to believe that they can sell anything.

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[flash]

i'm a pepper - you're a pepper - wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?

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[biotechee]

Be a pepper, drink Dr. Pepper!



I agree- leave the sedans (and SUVs for that matter) to Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Acura, VW, Infinity, etc.

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[coloradocab]

I have to dissent. Having seen two Panameras in the flesh (Colorado is a normal testing ground for Porsche and other manufacturers), I think they're great looking. The nose in particular is quite nice. On the pricing, I'm friends with a dealer, and those aren't the prices he's been speculating about. He mentioned expected prices from perhaps $60K-$150K, depending on engine/trim level, somewhat along the lines of the Cayenne.



Tough to say how fuel prices will affect sales, but Porsche is not a company that releases vehicles without a ton of market research done in advance. Suspect the Panamera will do just fine, and will probably sell like hotcakes in emerging markets such as China and Russia.

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[flash]

hmm - you have a cayenne, two tips, and the wife drives them too, so that makes sense - you are definitely in that target group - not a comment good or bad - just shows the marketing guys are doing their homework when they seek to appeal to everyone



on that note, yesterday i was reading the sales presentation book that porsche put out for the 968 launch - interesting reading - they said they were specifically targeting women with it, incorporating things to try to increase their numbers over previous models - that certainly explains a few things in the option and color lists



that book also confirmed something i had read before and had been trying to find again for a while now - porsche dropped the sales price before they even launched the car - they had issued press releases and let articles be written, and initial pricing was to be $44,500 on the hatchback, rather than the $39,850 it was released at, and he cab was supposed to be $53,000 rather than the $51,000



they also gave the dealers 3 months to adjust their purchase orders to try to fine tune to the market - they would then adjust the production line to compensate



now THAT'S active marketing - it also explains how options changed mid year and things like that

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[rhudeboye]

[quote name='rxter' post='60026' date='Sep 17 2008, 09:57 AM']I guess that they sold enough Cayennes to believe that they can sell anything.[/quote]



Recall when photos of the Cayenne was first released. The boards slammed it. I slammed it! My gearhead friends, family and co-workers, slam slam and slam.



The 911 is a work of art, as a sports car. Raise it 2' off the ground and give it a higher roof line and windshield and it looks out of place. Everything doesn't have to look like the 911! If they branch out a bit and get more creative in the front end, i feel it would go a long way in making their cars look less.. well, odd.



That being said, even if this is the final design, people will buy it. Just as they did w/ the cayenne. Because of the Cayenne, Soccer moms all over are driving porsches. And hubbys dont hesitate to buy'em. Because lets face it, it's waaaaa cooler then a mini van.

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[Ryan]

Marketing to women huh!! Maybe that's why my wife got a mailing from Porsche on the Pana and I did not. She has never owned a P car and I have has 4. If the pic above is the car, why do they keep using that stylized drawing that looks nothing like the car?

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[ds968]

on related news, giving in to the pressure of the Green lobby, Porsche acquired Smart car and will be releasing the new Smorsche GT next year. Spy photos ( below ) confirm the rumours



   

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[flash]

roflmao - thanks

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[RPM]

Don't like it. I really wish Porsche would spend their R&D dollars on sports cars and leave this stuff to Audi and VW.

Short-sighted. It is the profit margin of the Cayenne that allowed both the Cayman and LMP2 programs to proceed. It is not enough to just build niche sports cars. Not enough profit, and in a downward-trending economy it is too easy for consumers to pass on buying an extra fun car. SUVs (and soon sedans), as seemingly non-Porsche as they may be, allow the company to maintain its amazing profitability. You also have to give Porsche credit, when they decided to make an SUV, they made it faster and more capable than any other competitor. Good bet the Panamera will offer more of the same.



So, if sedans and SUVs provide Porsche with more profit to R&D the next generation of LMP2 (or LMP1!) and reengineer to 997 GT3RS to meet the ACO's 2010 GT1 classification, then I say build that sedan, baby!



As for the looks. I'll wait to see it in the flesh.

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