Porsche Panamera 2012 News

In a move likely to shock diehard Porsche fans -- and give Toyota Prius drivers something to grin about -- the iconic 911 is destined to get plug-in hybrid power by 2020.The 911 of the future will still have a petrol engine for open road driving, but it will also be able to do city commuting on battery power alone.Porsche has all but confirmed a power cord will become an accessory on one of the world’s most famous sportscars after experimenting with the technology on Porsche’s mainstream sedan and SUV models, and its million-dollar 918 supercar.“I expect we’ll end up with every model line with a plug-in hybrid,” the chief engineer for Porsche’s first hybrid supercar, Dr Frank-Stefan Walliser, told News Corp Australia at the 2015 LeMans 24 Hour where Porsche is fielding three hybrid race cars.“Most people believe hybrid is Prius … slow and no fun to drive. (Porsche) is different. I love hybrids, if they are powerful,” said Porsche’s research and development chief, Wolfgang Hatz.It has to feel like a Porsche and like a 911. It must drive like these cars always drive.While hybrid technology was initially developed to save fuel in slow moving traffic, the world’s performance car brands are warming to the concept after discovering electric motors deliver instant acceleration from low speeds.When asked how long it would be before Porsche introduced hybrid power to the 911, Mr Hatz said: “For sure an all-new 911 we need the opportunity to do that (add a hybrid model). I am convinced of the concept.”With an updated version of the 911 due later this year, the next all-new, hybrid-ready model is still at least another three years away.“Personally I'm a strong supporter of hybrid technology. That is the reason I push hard for this. If it improves performance, then we need it on our sports cars, if it’s fun to drive people want to have it,” said Mr Hatz.Dr Walliser added: “It has to feel like a Porsche and like a 911. It must drive like these cars always drive.”Australia’s former Formula One ace -- and Porsche LeMans driver -- Mark Webber is also a convert of the technology.When asked if customers would embrace hybrid technology, Webber said: “Definitely. They will, because we’re not easy to convince, as racing drivers, with this technology.”Webber said hybrid technology was inevitable as strict European emissions standards forced the introduction of smaller petrol engines.“When you see the massive downsize in engines and … awesome turbo tech, consumption is low and you’ve got the interface of the hybrid side,” said Webber.“The options available off the back of this (LeMans) program, it’s some good stuff.”One of the 911 models under consideration for hybrid power is the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 -- using electric motors to drive the front wheels and a non-turbo petrol engine to drive the rear wheels.“A Carrera 4, why not?” said Dr Walliser. “With four-wheel drive what you can do, the freedom you have how to use the traction, you’re not (restricted by) the speed between the different axles.”Electric motors are a good fit in hybrid cars with non-turbo engines because they deliver instant acceleration at low speeds while regular petrol engines develop power at higher revs, he said.Porsche was the first mainstream brand to introduce a showroom-ready plug-in hybrid car, the Panamera sedan in 2012. It followed the release with the Cayenne e-Hybrid in 2013 and the plug-in hybrid 918 supercar in 2014.“Our first plug-in hybrid was in 2012 … we now know a lot more (about) what we can do with a hybrid,” said Mr Hatz.

Speak to any motoring journalist and you will find they all love driving the big Porsche Panamera sports hatch. But they have differing opinions on the styling, many hate it, a few like it, but I can’t say I know one who really loves it. Always happy to listen to owners – and even to us journos if need be – Porsche has given the Panamera a major makeover. This is far more than simply a facelift and tail-tuck. The changes to the rear in particular give it a much more refined look than the somewhat clumsy original. We like the look that has been achieved by the wider rear windscreen and a revised bootlid. At the front, Panamera has a bigger, bolder air intake and the shape of the headlights has been altered. Most important of all, the windscreen has a sharper angle. This time the Panamera looks less like a bulked up 911 and more like a luxurious sports sedan in its own right. These days when you’re launching a new upmarket model you don’t do so at a motor show in Europe or the USA. No, you go the Shanghai Motor Show to give yourself first crack at the world’s largest car market. Interestingly, Porsche is introducing the world’s first upmarket plug-in hybrid as part of its push in the second-generation Panamera. As well as the standard car, Porsche is also introducing an extended-wheelbase version. These stretched models are vitally important to sales in China as very few luxury cars are ever driven by their owners – which sounds strange to us Aussies. Indeed, Porsche Australia knows its customers well, so the extended wheelbase Panamera will not be offered in Australia. However, never say never. The gen-two Panamera S E-Hybrid has a more powerful electric motor, a higher-performance battery that supplies more energy and, just as importantly the ability to be plugged in for charging externally from the electrical grid. The electric drive produces 70 kW, which is more than double the power of the previous model’s electric motor. It gets its power from a newly developed lithium-ion battery, which at 9.4 kWh has over five times the energy capacity of the previous nickel metal hydride battery. Amazingly, the previous model’s official European fuel consumption figure of 7.1 litres per hundred kilometres has been reduced to just litres per hundred. The acceleration time from zero to 100 km/h is shortened by half a second to 5.5 seconds. Porsche Panamera is taking part in the engine downsizing technology that’s sweeping Europe. A V6 engine with 3.0 litres displacement and bi-turbo charging replaces the previous 4.8-litre V8 engine in the Panamera S and Panamera 4S. This powerplant has 15kW more power and 20Nm more torque, with a maximum torque of 520Nm available over a very broad range of engine speeds. Most Panamera models are equipped with the seven-speed dual-clutch PDK. An eight-speed automatic Tiptronic S is standard in the Panamera Diesel and Panamera S E-Hybrid. The second-generation Porsche Panamera will be sold in Australia from late July, pricing has yet to be confirmed.  

Changes coming to the four- door speed machine are minor, but there headlamps change shape and  pick up larger LED running lights.