‘WHAT WILL STRIKE YOU FIRST IS THE SHEER QUALITY OF IT

Whatever you think of Porsche, you’ve got to admire the company’s vision. Back in 2003 only Porsche thought launching a giant SUV was a good idea but, looking back now, the timing turned out to be nigh on perfect. Then there’s the recent move to buy a controlling interest in VW. That’s an extraordinary result for a company that only makes around 100,000 cars a year; you can imagine the more crusty Porsche directors choking on their executive digestives when CEO Wendelin Wiedeking first came up with that idea. Now Porsche is about to build its very first saloon – and you really wouldn’t bet against it being another huge success.

The first thing to absorb about the new Panamera is that it is, strictly speaking, a hatchback. Very early on in its development, Porsche decided the car would work better with a fifth door. It wanted the Panamera to be seen as a very usable car, so consequently the rear seats can be folded down to make a continuous flat floor and a huge load area. Very handy for all those trips to Ikea.

The next conundrum for designer Michael Mauer to get to grips with was Wiedeking’s stipulation that he should be able to sit in the back seats comfortably. Since he’s well over 6ft tall and also insisted that the car retained a low roofline, this wasn’t as straightforward as you might think.

The result was that the car developed into a strict four-seater (rather than five), with individual rear seats and a curved rear roofline, giving the outline of the Panamera an unfortunate hint of Chrysler Crossfire. At just 55.8in high but with a track of 6ft 4in, the Panamera sits both lower and wider than all of its rivals, though with an overall length of 16ft 4in, it’s shorter than cars like the Maserati QP and Mercedes S-class (examples of both of which Porsche purchased during development to benchmark the Panamera against).

The result is a design that is a lot less clumsy than the Cayenne but is still hardly a thing of beauty. The nose incorporates the 911 family look a lot better than its mud-plugging brother, helped by the ultra-low bonnet line that was achieved by installing an active bonnet that fires up should a pedestrian be struck. Porsche hasn’t given the car a conventional ‘shouty’ grille either, relying on the 911 design cues and the powerful Porsche badge on the bonnet to do the talking.

What will strike you when you first see the car in the metal is the sheer quality of the thing, especially the interior, which has to be Porsche’s best-designed effort yet. It’s one of those cars that spoil rear seat passengers as much as those sitting up front. There’s a massive central console than cocoons the two front- seat occupants and then runs through to the back, dividing the two individual rear seats. It houses a multitude of switches (seemingly modelled on the look of those on a Vertu phone), controlling everything from the suspension set-up to the electric windows. The quality of the leather is top-notch too, soft to the touch and lavish in its application, putting the Panamera on a par with Bentley in terms of opulence. You can even trim the interior in a choice of wood veneers; it’s been a very long time since a Porsche has come so equipped.

One of the biggest surprises is how many variants Porsche is planning to offer when the Panamera is launched officially next summer. The range will kick off with a 300bhp, 3.6-litre V6 version (it’s a new engine that will also be offered in VW group products rather than the existing unit in the current Cayenne) which is guesstimated to cost around $ 60,000. There will also be a 400bhp 4.8-litre V8, and a twin-turbo V8 flagship with 4wd and the seven-speed, twin-clutch transmission (PDK in Porsche-speak) as standard. This top model should come in at around $ 150,000.

‘THE ENGINEERS ARE PROUD THAT THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE IS INSTANTLY RECOGNISABLE AS BEING A PORSCHE’

Both 4wd and PDK will be available on the other models as options, as will Porsche’s adaptive air suspension (steel/coil suspension is standard on all bar the Turbo). Porsche has also confirmed it will be offering a hybrid V6 version from 2010, claimed to reduce fuel consumption by up to 23 per cent compared with the base V6 manual (the PDK gearbox itself is said to offer a saving of 8 per cent on fuel against a manual version, thanks to the extra-long 7th gear ratio).

The engineers are particularly proud that the driving experience is ‘instantly recognisable as being a Porsche’. They’ve worked hard to make the Panamera as light as possible, incorporating an aluminium bonnet, bootlid and doors as well as developing a new, lighter driveline and suspension than that of the Cayenne. As a result, it can claim that the base V6 weighs just under 1600kg, while the range-topping Turbo comes in at under 2000kg.

A senior Porsche executive confided that the Panamera had cost Porsche around 100million Euros to develop, making it the company’s biggest investment ever in a new model, though still relatively cheap in car development terms.

But with so much cash swilling around Stuttgart these days, Porsche is in the lucky position of being able to push the button on a project like the Panamera just when other car companies are having to rein back their more ambitious ideas in the face of global financial uncertainty. The proof will of course be in the driving and that’s something we hope to be doing in April. Until then the doubters will fill the internet forums with the usual complaints about Porsche destroying the brand, etc. But Wiedeking hasn’t messed up yet and I don’t think he’s about to with the Panamera either…