The Panamera is Porsche’s latest break with tradition. This front-engined, four-door, rear drive sports saloon is Porsche’s latest all-new model, which is set to debut at the Geneva Motor show in March 2009.

It’s expected to have the tremendously powerful V8 engines from the Cayenne, and once again revolutionize what it means to be a sports saloon. It will, however, face stiff competition though from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and others (possibly even Lamborghini – see our coverage of the Paris Motor Show in this issue).

These images, taken by our international editor in San Francisco, are of the Panamera testing openly in the city (albeit in slight camouflage). He says it’s a large car, and one that sounds fantastic.

Clearly, these shots aren’t the most flattering, but we’ll have to wait and see what the final production version looks like – suffice to say, it’s bound to be a great deal more visually appealing than what you see here. The other image is an official teaser shot from Porsche, which gives some idea of what the front end will look like.

The Panamera has been developed completely in-house by Porsche, which can be risky since it’s their first four door saloon – but, as the Cayenne has proven, the bigger the risk, the greater the reward. Porsche says it’s the first true four-door sportscar – completely dedicated to the driving experience, and in keeping with their heritage… we’ll just have to wait and see.

Check out www.porsche.com/panamera for more.