New Delhi, Dec. 4: German sports car maker Porsche will launch the Panamera — its four-door coupe — in India by 2009, while the company gears up to double its sales by next year.

“The Panamera will be brought to India in 2009 as it makes its global debut the same year. We are confident that the launch of this car will boost our sales in India,” said Ashish Chordia, CEO of Shreyans Motors, the exclusive dealer of Porsche in India.

The car is likely to be priced at approximately Rs 1 crore.

Scheduled for an official presentation at the 2009 Geneva show, the fourth range from Porsche is likely to give strong competition to the Mercedes CLS, Maserati Quattroporte, BMW and the future Aston Martin Rapide.

Though the Panamera will take design elements from the 911 range, there will be a few significant differences.

Sources say while the first has always kept its rear-mounted boxer engine, the new sports sedan will do with a choice of three front-mounted motors, though set back to the centre of the car as much as possible.

In India, Porsche has sold 200 vehicles, all above the Rs 50-lakh bracket, over the last two years. However, the company, which will soon expand its network to other cities, is optimistic about selling an equal number of vehicles in 2007 as well. The company currently sells its range of the fully-imported Boxter, Cayman, Cayanne and Carrera along with its variants.

Porsche today launched its first showroom-cum-service centre in India and said it would also open such centres in Mumbai and other cities in the south.

“The Mumbai facility will be operational by February next year, while we are on the lookout in southern India in places like Hyderabad and Bangalore,” said Chordia.

“The investment made by Shreyan Motors to set up showroom-cum-service centres in Delhi and Mumbai will be in the region of Rs 25-30 crore,” he added.

“The market for high-end cars is going to grow steadily in India. A lot of people have money and we hope to tap them for our cars,” said Mohamed Rahman, managing director of Porsche’s Indian operations.