Porsche is poised to give the Pajun the green light for production after more than a year of research and debate, company insiders told Autocar.
If the model does get approved, it will be a direct rival for the BMW 5-series and Mercedes E-class and Audi A6. The Pajun won't be hitting showrooms until 2016 at the earliest, but it is still considered part of Porsche's plan to sell 200,000 units annually by 2018.
Most industry sources expect that the baby Panamera will be built on the next-generation MSB platform, a rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive architecture which will also underpin the next-generation Panamera and all future Bentleys.
Under the hood, the Pajun is expected to be powered by a variety of engines including:
- A 3.0-liter V6 TDI with outputs of 260 hp and 320 hp
- A 3.0-liter V6 petrol with outputs of 320 hp and 420 hp
- A twin-turbo petrol with 520 hp and 680 Nm of torque
