Porsche Will Be Offering the Panamera as a Sport Wagon Before Year's End
Porsche’s Panamera became significantly more attractive with its 2017 update; now Germany is supplementing it with practicality. The company confirmed that a “shooting brake” Panamera wagon will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, with sales commencing globally later this year.
The new Porsche should take a form similar to 2012’s Panamera Sport Turismo concept and give the finger to Ferrari’s GTC4 Lusso with a significantly reduced price and an extra pair of doors.
Dr. Stefan Utsch, Porsche’s sales and marketing director for the project, confirmed to the United Kingdom’s CAR that the five-door will become available in Europe for 2017 but kept silent about the American market. However the Panamara sells incredibly well in the United States, it would be surprising not to see the wagon eventually make its way across the ocean in limited numbers.
Despite using the nomenclature “shooting brake” the upcoming Porsche is not a two-door wagon, it’ll remain a four-seater with four doors and possess a hatched rear-opening. It also won’t be available as a long-wheelbase model. Cargo volume should increase but interior legroom will remain identical to the fastback Panamera.
That said, the company didn’t commit to a stance on the prospect of a shorter-wheelbase coupe version of the Turismo. “We’ve not ruled it out, but our focus is firmly on the electric cars we have in development,” an inside source told CAR.
While the concept five-door was a hybrid, Porsche informed CAR that the production model will share the same powerplants with its sedan sibling. Hybrid or electric variants should be plausible in the future, however.
[Images: Porsche]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I could afford it. I'd just have to live in it.
At least it has a low center of gravity, which makes more sense than the Porsche SUV duo.