Porsche Panamera 2015 News

European luxury carmakers have begun a massive rollout of plug-in hybrid technology, seeing it as the only way to meet increasingly stringent emissions standards.Cars with the system, which differs from a traditional hybrid by enabling a distance of about 30km on battery power alone, were centrepieces of almost every stand at the Paris motor show, which opened this week.Mercedes used the show to detail its S500 Plug-In Hybrid, a version of its flagship large luxury car that has "the performance of a V8 with fuel consumption of a compact model".The company says it has learned from involvement in Formula 1 to achieve fuel economy of just 2.8 litres per 100km - much less than a Toyota Prius - in a car that can charge to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds. The S500 combines a turbocharged V6 with an electric motor and can travel on lithium ion battery power for 33km.It is the spearhead for an armada of plug-ins, with Mercedes planning to launch one every four months until 2017.Mercedes chief Dieter Zetsche believes plug-in hybrids will be adopted quicker than electric vehicles, with prices in line with equivalent petrol models. "A plug-in hybrid is the 'easy entry version' for those who are still a little uncomfortable with electric cars," he said. The first luxury plug-in hybrid available in Australia is the recently launched Porsche Panamera sedan at $285,300. Porsche used the show to unveil the same system in its Cayenne SUV. It expects to sell up to 70 plug-in hybrids a year.Lamborghini was another supercar brand with a plug-in hybrid debut at Paris, with the Asterion, which combines a 5.2-litre V10 petrol engine with three electric motors for fuel consumption of 4.2 litres per 100km.It says the Asterion is a "demonstrator" but the brand has to be ready for changes in European fuel emissions rules.Lamborghini is part of the Volkswagen group and chief Martin Winterkorn warned EU regulators that companies needed time to recover the investment in new technology before emission rules were tightened further."Every gram of CO2 that we save in our European fleet costs our group almost €100 million ($144m) - €100m that we have to invest in advance, without knowing when these investments pay off," he said."That's why I worry when Brussels already now starts to cry out for new, more stringent norms for the time after 2020." Volkswagen has invested heavily in plug-in hybrids, with its luxury arm Audi committed to the system. Its Australian rollout begins with the A3 small car in March, priced at about $60,000.

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.