REPORT: Porsche Panamera Convertible is coming soon

According to a recent report, Porsche will produce a Panamera Convertible. Now, it's not the hoped for four-door convertible. Rather, in the interest of keeping some semblance of chassis rigidity, Porsche is going with a two-door, four-seat convertible. Two doors will also help to keep the weight (ha ha) down. Besides the fact that lots of folks like convertibles, why is Porsche building this car? "We have a broad range of 14 derivatives of the 911 that are very successful," development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer told Automobilwoche. "So it stands to reason we should diversify the lineup for the Panamera as well."
Perhaps a little more interesting is what comes at the end of the article confirming Porsche's newest drop top. Since Volkswagen now owns Porsche, the Panamera platform could be used for other products. Imagine the next Bentley Continental GT being built off a Porsche chassis, instead of the one used for the Phaeton/A8. Or, potentially even better, the Lamborghini Estoque. Neat stuff. Says an unnamed VW board member, "The new Porsche (Panamera) offers the potential for synergies." We're 67% convinced that's good. But uh, as long as they're going two door, might we make a suggestion? 928! 928! 928!
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]







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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
BigMcLargeHuge 4:03PM (10/08/2009)
"928! 928! 928!"
I agree with the above 3 points.
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ZachM 4:17PM (10/08/2009)
Then we can can hope they go full circle and build a coupe 928!
Fara 4:09PM (10/08/2009)
If the turn the panamera into a convertible, it might even be good looking. The front was never a problem (they swiped the design from the carrera gt), but the after the A-pillar things go bad, and it's mostly the roof and that backs fault.
Of course, this being Porsche, they can still mess things up when they chop off the roof, case in point 911 cab, which is a bit of a minger. No likey the back hump.
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brickkyard 4:21PM (10/08/2009)
O_o
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Kooshball 4:26PM (10/08/2009)
dear god.
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Cameron 4:32PM (10/08/2009)
The Panamara grows on me bit by bit, but when I first saw it all I could think of was a 1980-1985 Cadillac Seville.
http://www.gmphotostore.com/images/53218144_pr.jpg
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Protzenegger 2:58PM (10/10/2009)
Nothing in the history of design ever pissed me off quite as much as that car.
Nicole 4:34PM (10/08/2009)
Many of us 928 owners hope that some day, Porsche will make a successor.
While I am convinced this will happen based on the Panamera platform, I have no hopes or expectations that a such coupe will be anything as extravagant and forward thinking as the 928 was at its time. Posche is too afraid of repeating the same high cost and low volume situation they had with their "shark".
Until I see the result, the only car I would give my 928 for is the Aston Martin Vantage V8. That's what Porsche has to beat - in look and feel as well as the technical aspects.
In case of the over-decorated Panamera, they are not even close to the look and feel of the Aston Martin competitor (Rapide). Hopefully they won't make the same mistake with the convertible and coupe.
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Davin Black 9:00AM (10/12/2009)
What? I thought the whole point of being a 928 owner was to someday...own a 911 ? :-p
(I kid, I kid.)
I agree with targeting the Vantage if they make a Panamera coupe, though.
Paul P. 5:00PM (10/08/2009)
I wish they would have made it a four door convertible. At least then it would have been somewhat unique.
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Level 4:41PM (10/08/2009)
for one thing, it will def be a real 2+2 set up as appose to the 911 which you can barely fit a kid back there lol...So does this mean there will be a coupe as well ???
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adrenalnjunky 4:43PM (10/08/2009)
April 1st is a long ways off guys.....
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Art 4:47PM (10/08/2009)
ugh. its going to be compromised to just be big-ish without a big backseat. the end result of that union? a useless car
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Venom 4:47PM (10/08/2009)
I don't hate it...
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Franz 4:48PM (10/08/2009)
If they do build it, it should look way better than the current model. It's the ass end that ruins it.
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amg 5:08PM (10/08/2009)
whats the point?
This is freakin dumb. Make that idiotic.
Why would anyone want a mid-size / large 4 door sedan as a convertible? If you want a 'vert, buy a sports car. As for a 2 door, WTF? You already have the 911, Boxter and Cayman.
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DJ 5:09PM (10/08/2009)
Who at VW/Porsche is to be believed anymore? Two days ago, we were told that the Panamera would have a very brief lifespan, 4 to 6 years. Now we're being told that it willhave various derivatives?
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MikeofLA 5:14PM (10/08/2009)
It makes sense, It can be a Continental GT/M6/DB9 competitor, as opposed to the 911 that plays in that field, but doesn't really belong. This would be a very nice GT.
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cdwrx 5:39PM (10/08/2009)
"We have a broad range of 14 derivatives of the 911 that are very successful," development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer told Automobilwoche. "So it stands to reason we should diversify the lineup for the Panamera as well."
Wolfgang, I've driven the 911. I knew the 911. The 911 was a friend of mine. The Panamera sir, is no 911.
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Alex Hobbs 5:49PM (10/08/2009)
4 door convertible would have been really cool and long overdue since we've been teased about the idea for years now by various companies. This isn't that exciting, it will just be a bloated fat ass 911.
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