We know when it happened, we just don't know why it happened. Autoblog reader Joshua Silverman sent in some cellphone pictures of a Panamera he drove by in Denver, Colorado. And all of a sudden -- like the Grinch's heart growing three sizes -- we liked it. Or at least, we got it.

What if in an alternate universe Bugatti says, "We're not going out of business, we're doing a new model in the same market as the Veyron," but it doesn't know what that model will be? There's another luxury car company in the family called Porsche that's looking to get into the 4-door game. So Bugatti says, "Hey, we did this design study of a 4-door wagon-y thing a while back, have a look," and Porsche takes a peek and says, "Hey, maybe we can work with this," and then Bugatti says, "If it all works out, maybe, you know, since you own us now we can share things and stuff and stop losing so much money on each car," and Porsche says, "Be quiet, we're working..." and, well, you get the picture.

To the 'Ring we go, and our companions today are -- in the apt words of World Car Fans -- "beauty and the beast." That would be the Aston Martin Rapide and the Porsche Panamera. We'll let you decide which one deserves which title. Follow the link and you'll find a large gallery of both cars in basic black, un-camo'ed and racing each other around the 'Ring to help cast your vote.

More spy shots of the Porsche Panamera have emerged, and in addition to wearing almost no camo, it is missing one other thing: any hint of beauty, anywhere. In fact, we can now definitively say that Porsche has one of the world's greatest ever surprises up its sleeve: the company either has a titanic makeover regimen planned for the car that will turn it into something attractive, or Porsche plans to release a truly regrettable looking vehicle.

When the Panamera arrives next year, it will come bearing two weighty things: a 4.8-liter 520-hp twin turbo V8, and a $197,000 price tag. Beneath that model -- and price -- will be the normally aspirated V8. And to even get into the Panamera party, you'll need $127,000, which will get you a measly 3.6-liter V6, but that doesn't arrive until 2010.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Porsche Panamera

According to a source that recently attended a Porsche focus group in California, the crew from Stuttgart is considering offering the new Panamera sedan with an optional "targa" top and making a diesel engine available.