When I say “Porsche” what comes to mind? Athletic, dynamic, sporty cars that have been the most impressive sports cars on the planet for many years; at least that is what I think of when someone says Porsche to me. While there are now two Porsche SUVs it’s still the sports cars that are put out every years that make Porsche one of the most impressive brands on the market. There have been Porsche models that are more affordable to allow more customers to enjoy them and then there have been some that were so exclusive you had to win the lottery to even think of buying them.
With this broad spectrum of prices one of the continuous Porsche staples has always been the fact that Porsche is a sports car brand. The sportiness is even present in the SUVs that have enjoyed some great success over the years. One thing Porsche hasn’t done during its time is steer away from what has made it successful by entering the mainstream market with the rest of the sedans, wagons and hatchbacks that prowl our streets every day. While that may be the case so far, things just might be about to change.
Spy photos, which I have decided only take place when the automaker wants to have information unleashed unofficially, show us a new Panamera station wagon being tested. This should actually not come as a surprise to you at all; there was a concept version that made it to the platform in Paris for the 2012 Motor Show. This concept model was the Panamera Sport Turismo Concept which gave us the idea that there might be a station wagon put forth by Porsche at some point. It appears that time has come and the possibility is about to be a reality.
Because the Panamera is receiving a complete redesign for the 2017 model year this is the perfect time for Porsche to make this a reality. The expectation is that the car will lose about 200 pounds overall and use turbocharged V6 and V8 engines to give us the power we want. There may even be a plug-in hybrid model and a diesel engine for the Panamera, to give us a full power lineup. Along with the wagon, the Panamera is expected to have a coupe and a cabriolet model to give us a full range of models to choose from.
Does this mean the end for the Porsche that we have known for so many decades? It’s possible. When asked what they think of when the name Porsche comes up our grandchildren may think of a typical automaker that offers a full line of vehicles for daily driving with a few sports cars thrown in the mix. Do I hope this is the direction Porsche heads; not completely, but it would be really cool if there was an affordable sedan, or wagon from Porsche that let you have the driving experience of their sports cars in a build that makes more sense for a family.
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