Panamera - Actual photos

[wjk_glynn]

Motor Trend has an article claming to show actual photos of the Panamera: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/112_0811_2010_porsche_panamera_first_look/index.html

One figure amazed me... its almost 7 inches longer than the Cayenne !

Panamera 4S

Panamera Turbo

Karl.

 

[Fen]

I was going to say I quite liked that until I saw the third picture [:'(] Was it really inspired by the God-awful Crossfire? Look at the shambolic load of not parallel but not angled enough shut lines above the rear wheel in the same picture.

Also the Turbo looks somehow less cohesive, partly no doubt because silver doesn't mask the messy joins like the darker colour but also with details like the front fogs which are fine on the 4S but look like they are missing a surround on the Turbo.

Looking at it some more even the front that I originally thought looked quite good has started to look like the ugly love-child of a 456 and a Carrera GT, with some MR2 Roadster in the blood as well.

 

[333pg333]

This will be a millstone around Porsche's neck. They just seem to have cobbled it together from design and parts bins and painted themselves into a corner by not having Plan B. It really doesn't work from any angle in my eyes. They've tried too hard to make it look evolutionary. They should have had the balls to come up with something completely different that worked.

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

That looks like a squashed Cayenne I thought they might have learned by now that it actually helps to design a car properly.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: Fen
Look at the shambolic load of not parallel but not angled enough shut lines above the rear wheel in the same picture.

This is just so incredibly ugly and ruins the car.
They had better given it the look of a proper "shooting break"/"breadvan".

 

[appletonn]

If I didn't know better, I would have sworn that that was a poor effort at a Photoshop representation, using the back of a 911 and a squashed Cayenne, 'bolted' together!

The Maserati Quattoporte has nothing to fear, in the looks department at least...

Hey, careful what you say, the Porsche 'police' might be listening....[8|]

 

[marlin]

First impression were ugh but now not sure lots of cars have to grow on you. It may look better in the flesh []

 

[morris944s2john]

It sounds like you guys wanted to hate it and made up your mind before seeing the pics!

I have to disagree, I think the Panamera looks fantastic. Shut lines, thats nit picking, look at the overal lines of the car and the shape of the rear window how it finishes off the overall lines of the side window openings really pleasingly and matches the outline of the rear of the car. look at the cooling vent in the front wing (to help cool the engine??) how they have continued the swage lines along the front doors.

Porsche have pulled off the near impossible, made a 4-door saloon car that has the looks of the Porsche family yet the lines work as a full 4-door, four seater. The car looks great from every angle shown. The proportions look right, sleek and elegant and the car has a pleasing face. I think the Panamera will look stunning in the metal and will definitely grow on you.

Compare the Panamera to any other high performance 4-door car (eg BMW M5) and it makes its competitors look slab sided and ungainly.

I'd like to see what thye interior looks like and under the bonnet- any pics??

 

[Rotorhead]

No, I think many people here would have hoped that it had an immediate 'wow' factor - backed up by the traditional Porsche dynamic and engineering credentials.

But, from a design perspective, these pictures are disappointing - there seems to be too many styling cues competing with each other.

No doubt it will perform well in all the forthcoming road tests, but it will be a shame if, like the Cayenne, a lot of emphasis is directed towards its disapponting looks.

 

[944 man]

It looks quite a lot better than I expected. It also looks a damned sight better than the long wheel base four seat 911 that they built...

 

[Fen]

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john

It sounds like you guys wanted to hate it and made up your mind before seeing the pics!

I have to disagree, I think the Panamera looks fantastic. Shut lines, thats nit picking, look at the overal lines of the car and the shape of the rear window how it finishes off the overall lines of the side window openings really pleasingly and matches the outline of the rear of the car. look at the cooling vent in the front wing (to help cool the engine??) how they have continued the swage lines along the front doors.

Porsche have pulled off the near impossible, made a 4-door saloon car that has the looks of the Porsche family yet the lines work as a full 4-door, four seater. The car looks great from every angle shown. The proportions look right, sleek and elegant and the car has a pleasing face. I think the Panamera will look stunning in the metal and will definitely grow on you.

Compare the Panamera to any other high performance 4-door car (eg BMW M5) and it makes its competitors look slab sided and ungainly.

I'd like to see what thye interior looks like and under the bonnet- any pics??

Actually you couldn't be further from the truth, I came at this thread from a viewpoint of complete open-mindedness and when I looked at the first pics above of the 4S my first impression was positive, then I saw the side view of the Turbo.

The general shape of the car is personal preference and I have no more nor less right to say I think it looks terrible and you to say it looks great, but I have to disagree on shut lines. On a £10k Fiesta you might be right that shut lines are not important, but on a car that costs however many tens of thousands this will then they absolutely do. Just as much as a swage line and a (I suspect fake) vent.

Bottom line it's in the eye of the beholder if it looks better than an M5 etc. but Nick has it right that it's really competing against the Quattroporte, not the uber versions of middle-manager saloons. On that measure it comes up short as, while I personally don't care for the Quattroporte's styling there is nothing I can point my finger at and say "that's bad design", I just don't really like the overall look. With the Panamera it's easy to point at something and say "that's bad design".

I've no doubt it will sell reasonably well and that it's biggest problem will be the global financial climate it is born into, but there is an element that would buy anything with a Stuttgart crest on the front.

I agree I'd like to see the interior, but I have less interest in seeing the plastic engine covers it will have.

 

[swright]

ORIGINAL: RC18B 911 turbo

 That looks like a squashed Cayenne I thought they might have learned by now that it actually helps to design a car properly.

That's exactly what i though when i first saw it the other day. Truly awful In my honest opinion. It looks like something made in someones garage as a weekend project.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Hey, careful what you say, the Porsche 'police' might be listening....

Hmmm, after the comments I made on the thread in the general forum I'm in trouble, then.....[]

 

[Black_JPN]

I'm presently surprised at these 'actual' pics compared to ones seen previously. Although I have to agree with Fen on the shut lines, very sloppy.

In my opinion it needs 2 less doors, those shut lines tidying and a slightly shorter rear end et voila, a 944 for the future! []

 

[wjk_glynn]

If you look at the driver in the 2nd Turbo picture, it gives the impression of having a very wide interior.

Speaking of which...

Karl.

 

[appletonn]

ORIGINAL: Fen

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john

It sounds like you guys wanted to hate it and made up your mind before seeing the pics!

I have to disagree, I think the Panamera looks fantastic. Shut lines, thats nit picking, look at the overal lines of the car and the shape of the rear window how it finishes off the overall lines of the side window openings really pleasingly and matches the outline of the rear of the car. look at the cooling vent in the front wing (to help cool the engine??) how they have continued the swage lines along the front doors.

Porsche have pulled off the near impossible, made a 4-door saloon car that has the looks of the Porsche family yet the lines work as a full 4-door, four seater. The car looks great from every angle shown. The proportions look right, sleek and elegant and the car has a pleasing face. I think the Panamera will look stunning in the metal and will definitely grow on you.

Compare the Panamera to any other high performance 4-door car (eg BMW M5) and it makes its competitors look slab sided and ungainly.

I'd like to see what thye interior looks like and under the bonnet- any pics??

Actually you couldn't be further from the truth, I came at this thread from a viewpoint of complete open-mindedness and when I looked at the first pics above of the 4S my first impression was positive, then I saw the side view of the Turbo.

The general shape of the car is personal preference and I have no more nor less right to say I think it looks terrible and you to say it looks great, but I have to disagree on shut lines. On a £10k Fiesta you might be right that shut lines are not important, but on a car that costs however many tens of thousands this will then they absolutely do. Just as much as a swage line and a (I suspect fake) vent.

Bottom line it's in the eye of the beholder if it looks better than an M5 etc. but Nick has it right that it's really competing against the Quattroporte, not the uber versions of middle-manager saloons. On that measure it comes up short as, while I personally don't care for the Quattroporte's styling there is nothing I can point my finger at and say "that's bad design", I just don't really like the overall look. With the Panamera it's easy to point at something and say "that's bad design".

I've no doubt it will sell reasonably well and that it's biggest problem will be the global financial climate it is born into, but there is an element that would buy anything with a Stuttgart crest on the front.

I agree I'd like to see the interior, but I have less interest in seeing the plastic engine covers it will have.

I'd go further than that and say that whilst elements of bad design can be defended subjectively, I think that this car is the embodiment of lazy design and that is inexcusable.

Someone has started with the 'answer' (the design cues to be incorporated) and then worked backwards to cram as many in as possible, whether they fit or not...[8|]

The worst thing I can say, is that it moves car design forwards not one jot and that is disappointing from company that has always been such a pioneer in engineering terms.

 

[swright]

I totally agree with that Nick. Its just lazy design. They could have made such a nice car but simply took the easy route. And it shows!!

Did anyone see the Lambo concept 4 seater on Top Gear? Now that is a thing of beauty which makes the Panamera look fat bloated and slow!

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: Fen

I was going to say I quite liked that until I saw the third picture [:'(] Was it really inspired by the God-awful Crossfire? Look at the shambolic load of not parallel but not angled enough shut lines above the rear wheel in the same picture.

Also the Turbo looks somehow less cohesive, partly no doubt because silver doesn't mask the messy joins like the darker colour but also with details like the front fogs which are fine on the 4S but look like they are missing a surround on the Turbo.

Looking at it some more even the front that I originally thought looked quite good has started to look like the ugly love-child of a 456 and a Carrera GT, with some MR2 Roadster in the blood as well.

I agree with all of the above. If anything it reminds me of the Russian rear engined Tatra

and that's not an association you want to be making.

There are a lot of very accomplished sporting four seaters in the market, and many arriving. I think Porsche might struggle with this one. Here's hoping it looks better in the metal. I am still at odds as to who will buy it though.

I've had a go in a Cayenne and it is a very accomplished off road luxury car. However, IMHO if you want a luxury off roader you buy a Range Rover - but many people have other views and Cayennes have sold well.

On a similar line, if you want a sporty 4 door, 4 seater, you get an M5, an AMG Merc or a Jaguar.

 

[John Sims]

And it has a face like a viper (the snake not the car) as it seems to have eyes (headlamps) with heat sensing pits just below them - like a viper.

 

[Fen]

Another reason to go with the M5 / AMG option is that they come in estates, which (to my eye) always look better and are massively more practical, and let's face it if you don't care about practical you are going to buy a 911, not Panamera.

In terms of luxury sporty 4x4 I appreciate the RR Sport, but would I buy one ahead of a Cayenne Turbo? I don't know. Range Rover = Land Rover = venerable but perhaps not the last word in reliability. I have said before that the Cayenne is the only current production Porsche I'd buy; that didn't change with the 997, nor the Cayman, and it isn't going to change with the Panamera it would seem.

Then again I'd be reluctant to get "bush stripes" on any of them, and I question why I would want a 4x4 at all if I was going to worry about getting up close and personal with the scenery in it.