Gojirra99

The Rapide will have a MUCH, MUCH higher starting price though, and I bet will not drive as good as the Porsche.
I like the looks of the Rapide a lot more, but will not get one even if it's affordable to me. I would rather just have a DB9 or DBS, those non-practical rear seats/ rear doors of the 4-door coupe design are quite pointless to me for a fun car ...

IS-SV

My preference too from a styling standpoint.

hapaboy

bump bump bump

IS-SV

Let the heavy discounting begin.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

damn... that DOES look good!

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

agreed.........as long as I never see that backend

Gojirra99

Source : Porsche, via autoblog.com

Gojirra99

Sports Car Manufacturer reopens the Leipzig Plant to Visitors
Experience the new Porsche Panamera up close and personal

Stuttgart/Leipzig. In the Leipzig plant of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, the production of the new Panamera has started. On April 19, it was presented to the global public in Shanghai for the first time. The car will be launched in September starting with some European markets. Porsche is manufacturing the four-door Gran Turismo together with the successful sporty Cayenne SUV on one product line. For this, the Leipzig plant has undergone a 22,000 square meter expansion over the course of two years. The state-of the-art production and logistics concept was also refined further during this time.

No plant tours were possible during the past eight months due to the construction. Effective immediately, visitors may again experience production up close and personal and have the chance to see the first Panamera vehicles roll off the assembly line in Saxony. The approximately two-hour tours are free of charge, they can also be booked in connection with pilot and co-pilot offers, where participants have the chance to experience the Porsche driving features with a sporty Cayenne SUV on the racetrack or on the off-road premises.

Further information, all key dates and the possibility to book online are provided around the clock under the internet address www.porsche-leipzig.com.

IS-SV

btw, Gojirra99, if you put the picture of your LS next to the similar colored Porsche pic above, I believe the LS is a much more attractive car.
(or just look 2 posts up where we can see the pic of your LS directly below the burgandy cherry colored Porsche)

The sleek shape of the LS is true to its front engine rwd layout. The Porsche is trying to fake a 911 rear-engined look with it's big butt and sloping hood.

LexFather

I am so drained. Looks like an egg

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iTrader: (1)

1Sicklex I agree with you. Some thing about it does not look appealing

IS-SV

Yes, a bit poached looking.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i love it. can't wait for the reviews.

FKL

Heard the same whining when the Cayenne was being released in 2003. Didn't kill tge company then, and I doubt this sexy thing will now.

UDel

You think cars that look like jelly bean grocery getting station wagons are sexy? Every time I see the Panamera I am just so underwhelmed and surprised how bad a company like Porsche could make it look. It does have a nice interior design but that can't make up for the odd big ugly Taurus station wagon look. The Mercedes CLS seems to be the only winner so far in these new batch of sleek low slung 4 doors, the new Audi "4 door coupe" looks pretty bad too and I am shocked how they can't come up with a decent design and have to make them look so odd and uninspired. I could honestly design a much better looking car.

I don't think most people complaining about the Cayenne thought it was going to kill the company and most knew it would sell well. Most just felt a Porsche SUV was out of place from a sports car maker and they were just jumping on the pointless SUV craze bandwagon and selling out. If Cayenne's are able to keep Porsche in business and making the many variants of the 911 and able to fund other sports cars then I am fine with Porsche selling the Cayenne but they could have done so much better design wise with this Panamera. All the concept artists impressions looked so much better and exciting where and the production design just looks so uninspired and oddly proportioned, just having some cues of the 911 is not going to cut it when the rest of the design fails. Still I think it will sell pretty well for Porsche simply because people will buy(overpay for) it just because of the Porsche badge and the magazines will love it and praise it because it is a Porsche.