Let me chime in...

The Aston Martin DB9 is definitely the 928 spiritual successor from the Grand Touring standpoint. I know, i have one. It is a very elegant design, pleasant on the eyes, with an amazing engine that pulls non stop (a la 928). Very comfortable ride and sound and looks to kill with great long distance cruising ability... well this is what GT is all about. It is definitely not a sports car so it plays well in the 928, S4 and GTS space, but not in the Euro S, CS and GT spaces (which are beasts of cars). And a final note, the DB9 is definitely to be ordered in Automatic... again just like all Grand Tourers were meant to be ordered :-D

Now the Panamera.... well where can we start? I was VERY excited about this car, the design drawings were amazing and i was truly looking forward to getting one.... until it got released :-( oops. what happened!!! Well the PanAm is really good looking from the front, i actually do love the front. The interior is truly a teutonic design to the extreme and i appreciate everything about it; from the seating position to the layout of the dash and center console to the seats themselves, everything is quite impressive. My problem is with the rear end. Really i cannot get over the though that someone looked at the Boxster and blew it like a balloon. To me, it a really ugly design. It feels like they had a good start from the front and when they got to the rear, they just ran out of ideas and time and just hack jobbed it. I don't know. Again, this is my personal opinion, but it is shared by one too many of my friends as well. Love the front, Love the interior, What the hell happened at the tail? classic case of unfinished job. Just my 5c take on it.

For a sport sedan.... well from class pespective, nothing competed with the Maserati Quattroporte. Truly a timeless masterpiece with a Ferrari engine. You cannot go wrong there (just make sure you get your options right like the Sports GT package and whatnot... otherwise it might suck a little ;-). The other alternative is the AM Rapide.... which i really like from the pics, but i am yet to see it real life to judge, but i am impressed so far.

So to the final question... what would i really buy?.... to me its simple... Audi Audi Audi :-D Nothing beats the A8/S8 platform from the sheer deliverable. Classic looks, stunning beauty, performance abound, low maintenance... and real practicality.

Then again, it's my personal opinion... and the beauty of this world is diversity... or we would all be driving white Honda Accords.

P.S. I agree with Chuck and the others that we have to be open and progressive. The 928 IS a beautiful car, actually a VERY beautiful car and it was, is and will remain in our hearts a timeless classic. Believe me, i get more comments and looks when i go our with it than from many would expect for an "older" car in a very materialistic time. However, there are newer cars that are exciting, and as the 928 captured our imagination back in the 70s and 80s, new models will capture the imagination and heart of some kid today and tomorrow... keep that in your minds my friends.

 

Great Post Khaled.

do you by any chance know the man/family in the gulf that ordered 10 AM One-77's? I saw a thread to that effect and wonder if it is true?

 

Khaled, I agree with everything you said but am not quite as repulsed by the rear of the car. Granted, it's not the stellar design aspect of the rest of the car and I think the fugly tiny wheels Porsche has chosen exagerate that portion of the car. Which is precisely why we'll have the HREs long b/f the car ever hits US shores....

Another note on the Quattroporte; also the only trans to consider should be automatic from 2007 onwards. The duoselect (F1 trans) is almost impossible to drive w/o jerky starts and super hard shifts. The ultimate Quattroporte is the 4.7L GTS.

 

Hi guys,

TV.... nops not sure about who ordered 10 One-77s.... never heard of anyone pulling such a move on any kinda car since the 80s... but you never know. If anyone, i would think either in the UAE or in Qatar as they have more money to spend than know what to reasonably do with.

Chuck,

I agree with you fully, the Panamera's rear is a matter of personal taste. My point was that i did not feel they did it as cleanly as the 928's or the AM Rapide for that matter. But really the whole car is spectacular. Many of my friends who race in Saudi and Bahrain in the Porsche cup with GT3s and whatnot have had nothing but raves about the Panamera after driving it on circuit. They were so impressed they literally compared it to sports cars. Porsche did an amazing engineering job on it. I also agree with you.... the PanAm's wheels look ridiculous on the car (maybe they are pulling another 928 stunt :-D heheh). Anyways, congrats on the buy, the 4S is the perfect choice of practical use/performance/price, and i am sure the HREs will make it look the way it is supposed to.

Oh, also with respect to the Quattroporte, good catch on the transmission... the ones before the 2007 were horrible from what i heard. The ones i had the pleasure to drive are 2008 and 2010 which were very smooth. I heard Fiat was forced to change the transmissions for 07- due to so many complaints from owners on the previous cars... so yes the 4.7L + 2007- transmission is the ONLY way to go.

Keep in touch guys.

 

whew....I thought I was the only one that thought the front end of all the new porsches as ugly ...... and I agree the evolutionary result of the 928 should be more db9 or maserati esque....I just will never buy another porsche while the front end looks like they do.....fugly

0.02

 

928 gets a nice thread

http://sportscarforums.com/f9/2012-p...8-a-35395.html

 

That's because all we've seen for the past 15 years is Porsche morphing the 911 into a different form, which to me looks more like the *** and nose of a 928 with a rear engine and 911 windows.

So, if you keep the 911 windows, remove the rear flat engine and put a big V8 up front, and keep the 928 *** and nose, then you actually have a new 928 with 911 windows. So in truth, it's not a 911 frankenstein thing, it's a 928 frankenstein thing

 

I could see James Bond in one. if he treats it anything like the AM's or Bimmers, it'll be trashed in the 1st 30 minutes, but we should be able to hear it scream through the gears at least once before it's destroyed, lol

 

This thing is beautiful! I love it!

 

I wonder how long it'll be before 928 International starts getting used parts for it...

 

Any one see this: http://cars.uk.msn.com/motorshows/ge...402987&page=10

This is the "FAB'd" up Panamera. Not the true 2 door but at least something with two doors and a spoiler!

 

Ugh, that reminds me a lot of the Nissan GT-R, except somehow... more bloated.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

 

They have to grow a pair. There are corvettes that need to be taken down a notch and the japaneese are growing bigger engines and advanced designs. Has any one seen the what Honda and Toyota have in answer to the GTR

 

A 3500+ pound GT car isn't going to do it.

 

and at 2x the price...