Porsche has officially launched the Panamera, its first 4-door sedan. The company chose the Shanghai Motor Show as the world stage, an indication of just how important it views the Chinese market. Like many automobile journalists I had reservations about Porsche making a sedan, however sporty it may be, though I recall years past when we were happy to boast that the Maserati Quattroporte was the world's fastest 4-door sedan. Perhaps it's because, in a much-earlier era, my job was to publicise the German automaker and its racing activities in Canada. And that I owned and raced a Porsche. To me it was a pur sang sports car and ought to remain so, thus you can imagine how horrified I was (and still am) when the Cayenne was introduced.

This is certainly not the first time Porsche has deviated from its roots. It collaborated with Volkswagen to produce a "people's Porsche," the 914 and 914/6. During the 70s, in a complete break from tradition, Porsche gave us front engine/rear drive water-cooled models; the 924, using many VW/Audi parts, and the V-8-powered 928. The former grew into the more powerful 944, even as the latter suffered from poor sales. Had the 928 been a marque with a different nameplate it might have been a great success.

Times have changed. A new breed of buyers happily paid large sums to drive an SUV with the Porsche badge and to be fair, I must admit the company did deliver the performance and roadholding you might expect from a maker of sports cars. So maybe the Panamera will be accepted by the market at which it is aimed. Not without competition, by the way, for Aston Martin is also offering a 4-door "coupe" while Maserati continues with its elegant Quattroporte.

Porsche has this to say about its new car: "The 2010 Panamera is Porsche's fourth model line and customers will see an unprecedented vehicle concept, a gran turismo offering dynamic performance, elegance and luggage space - all delivered at 0-60 in under 5 seconds. This is the first premium car with an automatically shifting double-clutch transmission to feature an engine start/stop system that saves fuel and reduces emissions by turning the engine off when it is not needed, such as sitting at a stop light. The Panamera will be on sale in the United States this October."