Porsche announced this Wednesday of a new model line: to be called Panamera, the new car will be a premium-class sports coupe with four seats, four doors, and a choice of front-mounted engines driving the rear wheels.

Scheduled to enter the market in 2009, the Panamera will join the 911, the Boxster/Cayman and the Cayenne on the brand’s volume lineup. The new car’s name is derived from the legendary Carrera Panamericana long-distance race.

Production of the Panamera is to be in Leipzig, where Porsche already builds the Cayenne SUV and the Carrera GT supercar. Porsche’s total investment in the new model line, including development, will be more than $1.3 billion and will come entirely from the company’s own funds. Expected sales are at least 20,000 units a year.

“The Panamera is a perfect fit for Porsche,” said Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, the President and CEO of Porsche AG. “It has all the typical DNA characteristic of a genuine sports car. In terms of performance, design, and driving dynamics, it meets Porsche’s high standards in every respect. Through this sports coupe we are making our customers a highly attractive offer in the top performance segment.”

Porsche will develop and build the Panamera using the company’s own resources: “We will be developing a separate platform for our fourth model line at our Weissach R&D center,” said Wiedeking. “There are no plans for a joint venture with another car maker, but to ensure the profitability of this new model line we will cooperate more closely than so far with selected system suppliers.”

(this article was taken from speedtv.com)

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