The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo made its debut on the eve of the 2012 Paris motor show at the VW Group night. The sheer popularity of the potential new contender in the premium wagon category — and from the Porsche brand no less — meant we couldn’t get anywhere near the shooting brake-like concept at its initial unveiling. Instead, we waited patiently until the next day, when we caught up with Porsche’s general manager of Advanced Design, Mitja Borkert, for a walk around the new car.
Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo concept is a fresh take on the four-door Panamera which made its debut at the 13th annual Auto Shanghai show in April 2009. The original car, like the Cayenne SUV before it, polarized opinion and had its share of critics. We were one of them. Sure, we can understand the business case but, like the original Cayenne, it just doesn’t sit well with what we believe should come from a sports car maker with such an illustrious heritage.
Fortunately the same cannot be said for the Panamera Sport Turismo concept. Perhaps it’s because we’ve now had time to digest the concept of a four-door, practical offering from the Stuttgart-based manufacturer. Or perhaps its because this car, hailing from the carmaker’s Advanced Design studio, appears to be better resolved proportionately. Either way, when it came time to have a close look at the car on the show floor we came away well impressed, as I’m sure many will if the concept eventually makes its way to dealerships in production form.
