Automotive

Greener, more powerful Turbo S heads up Panamera Sport Turismo line

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The Panamera E-Hybrid is a greener, more powerful four-door Porsche 
The Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo S E-Hybrid looks like a regular Sport Turismo 
There's space for five in the Sport Turismo 
With 680 hp, the Sport Turismo takes just over 3 seconds to hit 100 km/h 
The Panamera E-Hybrid is a greener, more powerful four-door Porsche 
The face of the Panamera E-Hybrid is pure Porsche 
The boot of the E-Hybrid is low, for easier luggage loading 
The Panamera Sport Turismo E-Hybrid is somewhere between a wagon and a coupe 
The luxurious interior of the Panamera Sport Turismo 
Behind the wheel of the E-Hybrid 
The wide rear haunches of the Panamera Sport Turismo E-Hybrid 
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The Panamera Sport Turismo isn't exactly a traditional Porsche, with a body style sitting somewhere between wagon and coupe. It seems fitting, then, that the new range-topping model isn't a GT3 or conventional Turbo. Instead, it's the Turbo S E-Hybrid, which uses an electric motor and gasoline engine for big performance.

Like the regular Panamera sedan, the Sport Turismo Turbo S E-Hybrid is a seriously powerful four-door. The twin-turbo V8 makes 550 hp (410 kW) of power on its own, while the electric motor is good for another 136 hp (101 kW), for a total output of 680 hp (507 KW) and 626 lb-ft (849 Nm) of torque. That, in basic terms, is a lot.

The electric motor is hooked up to a liquid-cooled 14.1-kWh lithium-ion battery., which takes 12 hours to charge on a regular 120V, 10A connection using the standard 3.5-kW charger, but an optional on-board 7.2-kW charger hooked up to a 240V, 40A plug drops that to less than three hours. Owners are able to remotely start or stop charging using the Porsche Connect app, which can also be used to activate climate control before you get into the car.

With 680 hp, the Sport Turismo takes just over 3 seconds to hit 100 km/h 

With the electric and gasoline power sources working in tandem, the car will hit 60 mph (97 km/h) in just 3.2 seconds, and demolish the quarter mile in a staggering 11.6 seconds. Top speed is pegged at 192 mph (309 km/h). With all-wheel drive and an eight-speed double-clutch transmission it should be a perfectly comfortable way to cross continents in any weather, especially if you're in a hurry.

Although it's lightning quick, the Turbo S E-Hybrid is eminently practical as well. With a tall roofline and low boot loading height, there's room for four people and all their gear. The two outer rear seats are individual buckets, but there's also a usable central rear seat for those situations where you have one more person to carry. A four-seat option with fully adjustable rear buckets is also available.

As the range-topping Panamera model, almost everything Porsche offers is standard on the Sport Turismo Turbo S E-Hybrid. Carbon ceramic brakes, an adaptive chassis, adaptive power steering and torque vectoring are all included, along with three-chamber air suspension and 21-inch wheels from the 911 Turbo.

Behind the wheel of the E-Hybrid 

Aside from the Turbo wheels, there isn't much to distinguish the hybrid from other Panamera Sport Turismo models. Given it's such a handsome car, that isn't a bad thing. It's similar inside, where the touch-sensitive center console and widescreen infotainment display carry over.

The Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid will be arriving in dealers in the US spring next year. Pricing will start at US$188,400 when the car shows up.

Source: Porsche

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3 comments
Gizzy Magpie
Gawd, could they make this car any uglier? It hurts my being just looking at it. How can one car be so wrong? Like a cross between a Suburu Outback grafted onto a Ford Fusion with additional accent lines inspired by an entry-level Kia. Reminds me of those cartoons where they splice a wiener dog with a sheepdog.
Josh!
Still no Tesla.
SammyC
As a: 1) Car guy and 2) Porsche owner, I can say this car is ridiculously awful looking. Bloated and dumb. And expensive! For the same price as this swelled up jellybean, I can buy a top of the line Tesla and still have money left over for a 10 yr old mustang to wrench on and beat up at the track. BTW, I read an article that quoted the CEO of Porsche as saying the car is fugly: "In a recent interview with Australia's Motoring, Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller told the automotive publication that mistakes were made in the first-generation Panamera. When asked to specify, the Porsche chief executive admitted the interior and exterior design of the company's four-seater could be better." -Business Insider