bigs

Wish I had pics. Couldn't find any on their website.

Anyway, they claim the 4-door Panamera will spawn a shortened, 2-door GT coupe due on the market in 2011. They also state, "Porsche might even name it the 928."

It's a gorgeous car. Looks similar to artists' renderings we've all seen of the Panamera, but a little shorter. Mmmmm.

"Coupe buyers will choose from a selection of Porsche's next-generation, direct-injection V-8 engines."

"Power is expected to be about 350 horses upward, with turbo versions making in excess of 500. There are rumors regarding a possible 6.0 liter V-10, which would reportedly make about 650 horsepower."

"Transmission choices should include a seven-speed, dual-clutch DSG in the automatic role and a six-speed manual for those who insist on traditional shifting. There are no plans for an all-wheel-drive version. Like the 928 that preceded it, this coupe will be rear-wheel drive with a transaxle helping to balance weight distribution."

Barry Johnson

So, anyone got a 6-figure job opening? I'm available

Andre Hedrick

You need seven figures for the job because you need to pay in CASH!

SharkSkin

Which issue, Bigs? November? I only seem to have up to Oct.

Nicole

Hmmm... Sounds like what I've been saying all along. Only in print now. So it must be correct.

Ron_H

I want it. Give it to me. Please make it meteor-metallic with a grey or black interior in alcantara sport seats and a LOUD horn. Oh yeah, please include a built in roll bar ala Ruf.

Thank you.

Foz

Finally... I was wondering when Porsche would finally dump the lame Tiptronic in favor of a DSG/SMG/etc.

It is freaking 2006 after all, and even the hated BMWs have had SMG for 4 years now...

Nicole

Yep - and the DSG will be made in Germany, not Japan like the transmission of the Cayenne (and 997, I believe)

RyanPerrella

for all of you that dont know, Porsche had whats now known as DSG in the 90's with the 962 race cars, I forget what it was called, it was some accronym like PXX for Porsche X X ? Oddly enough they seem to be the last high end manufacturer going to that type system for production cars (including the F1 type the Ferrari and BMW market) (Only Audi has a DSG as its a propriety system and DSG is obviously an Audi trademark, actually they now call it something else and cut the DSG, they market it now as an automatic and dropped "DSG".)

sorry for that rant, i lost focus there..........just random transmission thoughts

69gaugeman

An aluminium foil hat helps prevent that

IcemanG17

2010-11 will be a very interesting......my guess is they will not bring back the 928 name....but you never know.....another thought is if they do call the 2 door a 928 it really would be an insult....since it is a modification of another design (& a sedan at that)...not a clean sheet of paper design that the 928 is!!!

perrys4

Nicole is right. This story has been going around for a long time. It is a known fact in the industry that the executives at Porsche loved the 928 and din't want to cancel it but had to for obvious reasons. There is no reason not to develop a two door version of the Panamera. I just hope the 4-dorrs looks improve or the new 928 will be a bust like the first one.

heinrich

Not so. The Porsche family hated the 928 because it was slated by Dr Ernst Fuhrmann (Porsche management) to replace the aircooled 911 cars. Fuhrmann was forced out and the 911 returned to glory, and the 928 production run deleted. So .... maybe they've changed their minds now, but I think we're unlikely to see porsche in the true Sportscar market much longer, likely they will make BMW/Mercedes/Saab-like cars.

Bob Rouleau

A few observations:

1) The SMG transmission sucks as far as I'm concerned. It has no place in a GT car like the reborn 928. The maserti Quattroporto suffers from the same problem with the F1 (Cambiocorsa in maser speak) tranny.

2) Porsche's version of the dual clutch transmission was called the PDK in the 962 racer.

3) DSG is AFAIK proprietary to Borg Warner and Volkswagen/Audi got an exclusive license for a few years. That ends soon and I suspect we will see versions of it in a variety of cars including Porsche.

The Tiptronic on 911 turbos (99x) is sourced from mercedes and it is one of the better automatics on the planet. In my opinion it has no place in a sports car, in the same way that the F1 does not suit the Maserati QP.

DSG is a truly superior form of automatic with manual override controls. It avoids the harsh shifting (or sloppy, depending on settings) of the F1 and SMG single clutch designs.

Best,

Cameron

I hope that they use all aluminum body to keep the weight in check. No reason why it should weigh more than the current 911. The new twin turbo tips the scale at around 3550lbs according to C&D. That is just about what famously fat and lazy 928 GTS weighed.

Or you could just buy a 15-20 year old S4 or GT and bolt on a blower for your 500 hp. You would probably save about $100K.