rom designer sketches to camouflaged test mules, Porsche tested the patience of the automotive microcosm until it finally presented the Panamera at the 2009 Shanghai autoshow. Chinese customers which Porsche included in its focus groups – style clinics as they call them in Weissach – beside Germans and, of course, the all important north americans to validate design directions. The result isn't consensual, almost cerebral. If the 911 DNA can be traced to the grille-less facia, the hood's cut line, the shape of the front fenders, the tightening cabin or the trapezoidal rear window, the end result rarely convinces at first sight. The Panamera has to be more than the sum of cues borrowed from its brethren.

Target customers ? According to the Panamera project leader, they are segmented by the cars they own: luxuy sedans lacking sportiness (A8, 7-series, S-class), cramped sports car lacking practicality (911 and wannabe's) or SUVs with a socially taxing image. The Panamera buyer is looking for more sportiness or more space in a discrete package.