2009 Porsche Panamera

The name was already familiar, since Porsche chat rooms were abuzz earlier this year with the news that Porsche had trademarked both Cayman and Panamera nameplates. Like Carrera, the Panamera name refers to La Carrera Panamericana, the long-distance race in Mexico, in which Porsche competed successfully in the 1950s.

Those who are troubled by the idea of a four-door Porsche have a long time to get used to it, since the car won't go on sale until the 2009 model year. So far, Porsche has released only a sketch.

The Panamera will offer a choice of front-mounted engines driving the rear wheels. Direct-injection V-8s displacing up to 5.0 liters and producing as much as 500 hp in turbocharged form will be highly evolved derivations of those powering today's Cayenne. The Carrera GT's V-10 also will appear in a limited-edition halo model. Porsche will build the Panamera at its Leipzig, Germany, plant, where the Cayenne and the Carrera GT are assembled, and hopes to sell at least 20,000 a year. Pricing will be in line with uplevel models of the Mercedes-Benz S-class.

Marque purists are already howling, just as they did earlier when the Cayenne was announced. But the Cayenne has been a sales success, although it may be too early to gauge that model's long-term effect on Porsche's image. It's also worth noting that whereas the Cayenne was developed in partnership with Volkswagen, the Panamera will be a 100 percent Porsche effort.

Whether this is right for Porsche or wrong, we expect that the Cayenne's superb powertrains in a smaller, lighter, more nimble vehicle are almost certain to be a sensational drive.