So, will Porsche’s latest Panamera sedan spawn a coupe or?gasp!?a convertible" “We have no shortage of coupes and convertibles in our lineup,” our source at Porsche in Zuffenhausen says, hinting that such variants don’t have much traction internally. It’s still tempting to imagine Porsche using its new front-engine/rear-wheel-drive platform for something even sportier than the Panamera, so we asked our illustrator to whip up some renderings.
A Panamera-based coupe and cabriolet would be easy to create on the car’s Modularer Standardbaukasten (MSB) platform, which could easily be tweaked to produce a high-powered two-door gran turismo. In fact, the architecture has been used to underpin the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept. If Porsche launched a coupe or convertible version of the Panamera, it would probably come up with a distinct front bumper as well, but here’s what the models might look like with the current Panamera (non-turbo) fascia.
A Panamera coupe and convertible could come with virtually every powertrain available on the sedan. Although adapting the Panamera’s plug-in-hybrid setup might present packaging problems, diesel and gasoline V-6 and V-8 engines would be a snap. Both rear- and all-wheel drive would be on the table, too. But don’t think about shifting for yourself in our imaginary Porsches; a ZF-sourced eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is the only gearbox currently developed ...