Remember the ultra-cool Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo concept? While that never reached production, the next-gen Panamera is slated to get a long-roof shooting brake model. As these spy photos from Europe show, that model is already under development.
Though there’s still lots of cladding over the Panamera prototype’s rump, we can easily see it has different rear pillars, a more upright rear window, and a redesigned trunk compared to other Porsche Panamera prototypes we’ve spied. The wagon-like design will provide far more practicality and cargo capacity for the next Panamera, with the more sedan-like four-door model continuing, too, for traditionalists.
Though Porsche has yet to confirm a Panamera shooting brake, AUTOMOBILE European bureau chief Georg Kacher says the model is in the works and will arrive by 2019 — a year later than originally planned. According to Kacher, the standard four-door Panamera is due to debut publicly in October.
The next Porsche Panamera will be built on Volkswagen Group’s rear/all-wheel-drive “MSB” modular platform, an architecture that will also be used for the next Bentley Continental, Flying Spur, and Mulsanne, as well as the next Audi A8. With a front-mid engine arrangement, weight distribution should be improved. Underhood, we expect a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission. There will also be hybrid models, as well as V-6 and V-8 turbodiesel mills.
As earlier spy photos revealed, major changes are in store for the Porsche Panamera’s cabin. Instead of the sprawling mass of buttons on the current model’s center console, the new Panamera will switch to smooth, touch-sensitive controls on a slick gloss-black surface. It will also have a larger, sleeker touchscreen infotainment system at the center of the dashboard, redesigned gauges for the driver, plus a new three-spoke steering wheel inspired by that of the 918 Spyder.
Stay tuned for more on the next-gen Porsche Panamera and its eventual shooting brake variant over the coming years.
