Porsche Rethinks Small Sedan, Puts Panamera-Based 928 Coupe on Hold

Don’t let that familiar looking bodywork fool you. This is not the much-rumored new small sedan reportedly intended to slot in the Porsche lineup under the Panamera. Nor is it a cleverly disguised mule for a Panamera-based, front-engine Porsche coupe, a car the rumor mill insists would resurrect the legendary 928 name. The hardware underneath this car, which includes an all-new twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8, is in fact destined for the next-generation Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur, according to well-placed sources in Stuttgart.

Porsche has been given lead development duties for VW Group’s new MSB architecture, the hardware that will underpin a new generation of premium front-engine, rear- and all-wheel-drive sedans and coupes, and even selected SUVs. Among the cars slated for MSB: Bentley’s next-gen Continental GT and Flying Spur sedan.

Porsche is also heading the development of the all-new VW Group 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8. That engine will not only appear in the forthcoming Porsche Panamera, the first MSB car to hit production, but also in the MSB-based Bentleys. A modified version of the engine will also appear in the next-generation Audi A8.

Plans for the small Porsche sedan, known internally as Pajun (not its real name, by the way, but simply Porsche shorthand for “Panamera Junior”) have reportedly changed radically since the car was first considered. Though originally planned as a smaller Panamera — in the same way as the Macan is a mini-me Cayenne — the hot rumor is Pajun will now be realized as Porsche’s first-ever electric car, essentially a production version of the Mission E concept unveiled at last year’s Frankfurt Show.

The Panamera Coupe, aka the 928, is in limbo. Sources say the idea has been reviewed at the highest level within Porsche, but it now seems highly unlikely the project will be given the green light because of fears a re-incarnated 928 could cannibalize Bentley Continental GT sales.

The post Porsche Rethinks Small Sedan, Puts Panamera-Based 928 Coupe on Hold appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/2b01sja