SPY PICS: New Porsche Panamera

The second-generation Porsche Panamera has been snapped during a top secret closed-road test. Although the spy shots were taken with a long lens at extended range (and hence a bit grainy) it is clear we're looking at an all-new product, which is being readied for a 2016 launch.

Porsche's four-door Panamera first launched in 2009 and was roundly derided for its bulbous styling, yet for all the criticism it has been a good little earner for Zuffenhausen. Boasting luxurious interior fit outs, compliant suspension (compared to most Porsche sports cars) and a range of engines from hugely powerful to silent hybrid, the Panamera has found a niche and more than 100,000 of the luxury grand tourers have been sold thus far.

Looking at the images, the backside-heavy styling of the current Panamera appears to have been smoothed out courtesy of a more harmonious roofline, owing more to the 911 than the current four-door cruiser, particularly towards the rear.

Camo stickers on the headlights and brake lights make it difficult to resolve details but overall the car appears to tip its hat to the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo concept that was shown in late 2012 at the Paris motor show, with a more integrated, family look that is less likely to polarise the Porsche faithful.

The front fascia of the car in the photos appears fairly generic, replete with LED driving lights and a larger central air dam, and is expected to change multiple times as testing on the car continues.

Based on the VW Group's MSB or modular standard platform, the Panamera's underpinnings are more than likely to be shared with future premium models including the next Bentley Continental range, and there is talk that manual gearboxes will be axed.

Nevertheless, the new platform should see torsional rigidity increase (improving handling and safety) and kerb weights plummet, by up to 100kg according to Automedia sources, via the adoption of aluminium and possibly even composite carbon/plastic materials in the bodywork.

In terms of propulsion systems, it's too early to definitively say what the second-generation Panamera will carry, but twin turbo V6 engines from the Macan and Cayenne are expected to replace some V8 models to reduce CO2 outputs. That said, the Panamera Turbo is expected to keep its AMG-rivalling twin-turbo V8.

At the other end of the spectrum will be the 306kW Panamera S E-Hybrid, a plug-in hybrid that can drive purely on electricity for almost 40km.

– with Automedia