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Porsche Panamera wagon may appear next year

Following the second-generation Panamera's debut this past summer, it seems Porsche is planning the unveiling of a more practical wagon version next year. Based on previous information, this seems like a strong possibility. Automotive News spoke with anonymous sources at Porsche who said the car will probably be shown at the 2017 Geneva show. This would fall in line with a report that slated the wagon for a 2018 release, which would make sense to reveal the car in 2017. We've also seen a Panamera prototype with a lengthened roof testing at the Nurburgring, indicating that Porsche is working on one that could be close to production-ready. In addition, Porsche's North American CEO confirmed the US will get a Panamera wagon if it reaches production. If it reaches production, the Panamera will be almost without competition in the US. While it would compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake, as Automotive News points out, and the Audi RS 6 Avant in Europe, the US really only has one midsize, luxury wagon left on the market it would face-off with. That would be the Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon. The current generation is only available as the E400, but we expect an AMG E63 model to be official soon. While an impressive vehicle in and of itself, the E-Class still has traditional, upright wagon proportions instead of the sleek, raked shape of the possible Panamera wagon. The E400's 329-horsepower twin-turbo V6 is also a perfectly competent engine, but the standard Panamera packs a 440-horsepower V6, and it only gets more powerful as you move up to the hybrid with 462 and the V8 with 550. All are engines that would likely be available on the wagon. UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the E-Class wagon was rear wheel drive. It actually comes with all wheel drive standard. The text has been altered for accuracy. Related Video:

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #344 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #344 tonight, joined by Doug DeMuro, author of Plays With Cars, formerly of Porsche Cars North America, and all-around swell guy. You can drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module below, and we'll give them extra-diligent attention. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
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Former Porsche boss Wiedeking won't face criminal charges over VW bid

Hedge fund managers have been suing Porsche for years now, alleging that the car company lied about its intentions during its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen, a gambit that caused them billion in losses. Over the same period, authorities in Stuttgart built a criminal case against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking (above, left) and Chief Financial Officer Holger Härter (right), filing charges in December 2012. When those fund plaintiffs lost their most recent court case, one of the dimming lights in the dark and receding tunnel was that the criminal investigation might unearth more evidence about Porsche's actions that could help the plaintiffs in pending litigation.
Bloomberg reports that another light has gone out, though, with a Stuttgart court dismissing the market manipulation case before going to trial because, as a court spokesperson said, "there wasn't enough evidence backing up the charges." When prosecutors get the files back from the court, they have a week to decide to refile, but unless they've been sandbagging evidence that could bolster the case, the only lights at the end of the tunnel will be those welcoming Wiedeking and Härter back to the world of legally unencumbered men.