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The car that German carmaker Porsche once said it would never build is doing hot-weather tests on roads in Africa, preparing for production in 2009.
A convoy of four-door Panamera sedans has been clocking up high-speed kilometres in Namibia, which allows cars equipped with special number plates to exceed the country's speed limits.
The exclusive NZ Herald photos were taken by German spy agency Automedia, which described the test cars as being almost "production-ready".
The Panamera picks up trademark design elements from the evolutionary rear-engined Porsche 911 and mid-engined Boxster, both two-door flyers.
But the four-door will have its engine in the front, a first for Porsche since the V8-powered 928 of 1978-95. Other front-engined Porsches were the four-cylinder 924, 944 and 968.
Panamera buyers are likely to have three direct-injection engine options: An entry-level 225kW 3.5-litre V6; a 260kW 4.8-litre V8; and a 415kW twin-turbo 4.8-litre V8.
Porsche has said the Panamera will be a true sportscar, but with four full seats, easy access to the rear and a luggage compartment of around 450 litres.
It aims to sell 20,000 units in 2009, its first year of production. The Panamera is expected to be unveiled at next year's Geneva motor show.
