Chalk this one up under unexpected: The upcoming Porsche Panamera supersedan will offer a trailer hitch as an accessory option - at least in Europe. We haven’t received confirmation from Porsche on whether the hitch will make the journey across the Atlantic to North America, however.

Carmakers love to build as many models as possible from a single platform as this helps them spread initial investment costs, as well as risk, that can often run up into the billions of dollars. This is especially true for smaller carmakers with limited budgets and low production volumes. Case in point is Porsche, which has just developed a brand new platform for its 2010 Panamera sedan.

According to Porsche’s R&D chief, Wolfgang Dürheimer, the Panamera platform has great development potential and already in the works is a new Cabrio variant. Dürheimer first revealed the information during an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, where he also mentioned that because of its size the Panamera Cabrio will only feature two doors in order to maximize rigidity. Furthermore, Dürheimer confirmed that it will feature a conventional soft-top roof as this is the only option Porsche wants for all of its convertible models. Our preview rendering includes these details and marries them with the current Panamera's styling to show what the final result may look like.

The Porsche exec wasn’t willing to reveal details about a successor to the 928 but previous reports suggest that such a car is in the works. The new car would likely be called the GT Coupe but unlike the Panamera it would be an all-out performance model rather than a comfortable tourer.

Both the new Cabrio and GT Coupe are expected to feature 2+2 seating plus most of the engine options from the Panamera sedan, which means a range of V8 powertrains as well as a new V6 unit. The upcoming hybrid version, however, will likely be limited to the four-door.

Porsche hasn’t officially confirmed either the Cabrio or the GT Coupe but the latest comments from Dürheimer suggest the cars are already in development, which means they should be on sale by next year as 2011 models.

For many, the most enjoyable part of driving a high-end sports car can be that rumble coming from the exhaust pipes as you wind the engine up to its shrieking-point - but there are also times when you'd like to just sit in the car and listen to your favorite album on your way to your destination. For that latter experience, renowned German audio company Burmester has teamed up with Porsche to create a unique high-end sound system for the new 2010 Panamera.

If the name Burmester sounds familiar, it's because the company worked on a sound system for the horribly expensive Bugatti Veyron 16.4. The Veyron, coincidentally, is the only other car the company has been inspired to create an audio system for. The set-up for the Porsche Panamera promises to be every bit as exciting, and with a 16-speaker design we would hope so.

Each speaker in the custom system has its own separate amplifier, which can range from just 25 watts for the tweeter to a 300 watt subwoofer in the trunk. There is also an air-motion tweeter in the dashboard, and each amplifier is analog rather than digital for ultimate sound quality.

The result of all this technology is a sound experience second to none - and considering that it took the Burmester team around five years of tinkering around in a Cayenne to hone the art of in-car audio, the effort seems to have paid off with Porsche endorsing the technology after a demonstration from the company’s engineers.

For all that audio know-how, however, customers will be paying a pretty penny, with Burmester asking close to €5,000 ($7,000) for the basic system. If that sounds expensive, it might be worth considering that Burmester's audio systems for the home can stretch into the €100,000 range ($141,000).

Report: Porsche Panamera Turbo circles ‘Ring faster than CTS-V
07/10/2009, 3:41 PM BY ANDREW GANZ

A German publication is reporting that a Porsche Panamera Turbo driven by racing legend and Porsche test driver Walter Röhrl has lapped the Nürburgring race track in 7:56, a time that would shave about three seconds off of the record-setting 7:59.32 time achieved by the Cadillac CTS-V.

According to Sportauto, the Panamera Turbo used for the timed lap featured the optional Sport Chrono Package, including ceramic brakes.
Few details are available to confirm the test, though we’ll do our best to confirm the report.
Though more a bragging point than a genuine litmus test for performance, the Nürburgring is extensively used for new car development. The record-breaking CTS-V, which was driven around the track last May by former General Motors Performance Division chief John Heinricy, was sold by the automaker at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Arizona earlier this year.

The CTS-V, which costs considerably less than the Panamera Turbo will when it goes on sale, serves as the benchmark for four-door vehicles at the Nürburgring.