Did the Porsche Panamera just get a whole lot more interesting?
Posted on Mon 17th Jul 2017 at 11:14
The recent launch of the new Porsche Panamera would have been exciting enough, given that the marque unveiled a new improved version that is now faster than the Alfa Romeo Giulia around the Nurburgring.
Oh, and it looks fantastic - what more could you want? It turns out that there is more, as during a discussion about upcoming variants, which currently include the the 4S, the Turbo, and a diesel, with a turbo S model on the way, Porsche slipped into the conversation the fact that two plug in hybrid models will also be offered in future.
One of these will undoubtedly be an eco friendly model, in the same vein as the similar one in the last Panamera range. The other one, however, is still up for grabs, and commentators are suggesting that it may be a hypercar in the same vein as the 918 Spyder. In this case the hybrid drivetrain would power high speed corned exits and high G launches - in other words, exciting stuff.
The standard new Panamera has a twin turbo 4 litre V8 engine, so strapping electric motors on top could conceivably generate 700 horsepower and 800 lb-ft of torque in a four wheel drive configuration. Porsche fans may think that this sounds eerily like a four door hypercar in the same vein as their other too of the line models, and the marque is certainly doing nothing to destroy this impression. We won't know for sure until details are released - hopefully in the next few months - but in the meantime our imaginations are running wild.
