Porsche Panamera, Four-door sportscar

Not so long ago, a four-door saloon from Porsche would have been considered as heretic as Schwarzenegger playing Rambo, but thanks to a certain VW Touareg-based SUV, Porsche could probably slap its badge onto a moped and it would be deemed ok.

But the Panamera, far from being a cynical exercise in increasing sales, is shaping up very nicely indeed. A trickle of spy pictures began years before any official details were unveiled, but they never really did the saloon justice, making it appear like a lazily stretched 911. Cynics might still claim that to be the case now we've seen the final version, but we think there's much more to the Panamera than that.

Set to compete with a new crop of supercar saloons - including the Aston Martin Rapide and the Lamborghini Reventon - Stuttgart's four-door already has a specific advantage in that it'll be significantly cheaper than them. It's not even actually a saloon, but a hatchback, so it should be most practical as far as these things go. A heady mix of V6 and V8 petrol and, gasp, diesel engines will sit at the prow, sending between 300bhp and 500bhp to the wheels.

There's still quite a wait though, as it's likely to be the end of summer before it hits showrooms, by which time there'll be a waiting list, probably.

Mark Nichol