Background
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Since the mid 1980s Porsche had been exploring the potential for a performance-orientated four-door, four-seat saloon to compete directly with offerings from the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz and Maserati. By the mid 1980s sales of the luxurious 928 had picked up nicely, adding fuel to the fire and resulting in the 989-project getting the green light from the Porsche boardroom.
Between 1988 and 1991 Porsche engineering maestro Ulrich Bez led a team that developed a car that, to the casual observer, looked very much like a four door 911. The car was front-engined, however, and featured a water-cooled V8 under its curving bonnet. Sound familiar?
By late 1991, however, Bez had left Porsche and 928 sales had slumped again. Corporate profits were down and a cold wind of austerity was blowing through the Porsche boardroom. As a result, the 989 project was cancelled completely in 1992.
By 2009 the landscape had changed significantly for Porsche, however. The Porsche Cayenne SUV had been selling well since 2003 and helping to blaze a trail for Porsches of a different flavour. Corporate profits had bounced back, and the time seemed right for Porsche to revisit the four-door, four-seater sports saloon idea.
Enter the Panamera. Launched in 2009 at the Shanghai International Auto Show, the Panamera was powered by a range of front mounted, water cooled V6 and V8 engines.
The Panamera, its name originating from the Carrera Panamericana race, was cautiously received to start with but soon gained an enthusiastic following. The car was significantly redesigned in 2013 and revised again in 2016.







