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Marton Pettendy29 Jan 2015
NEWS

New Panamera to spawn Model S rival

Report claims Porsche will produce smaller Pajun sedan after all – as a dedicated EV

In what appears to represent a reversal of its parent company's freeze on the development of additional models, Porsche is reportedly readying a smaller sedan than the Panamera for release around 2018.

While that's not big news in itself, given reports of an all-new large sedan based on the next-generation Panamera have surfaced for years, Auto Motor und Sport claims the 'Pajun' (or Panamera junior) will be a dedicated electric vehicle.

According to the German publication, Porsche has abandoned plans to release petrol and diesel versions of the Pajun and is instead planning a pure-electric sedan that would be a direct rival for Tesla's revolutionary Model S.

Porsche executives reportedly think the large luxury sedan market is too crowded for a full range of Pajuns with conventional powertrains to go head to head with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, Jaguar XF and Maserati Ghibli.

Auto Motor und Sport says the four-seat Pajun EV will be released around 2018/2019 with a zero-emissions driving range of up to 400km, thanks to advances in EV battery technology over the next few years.

As expected, the new E-segment four-door will be based on the same Porsche-developed MSB platform as the next Panamera and Cayenne, as well as Bentley's next Continental and new Bentayga.

Meantime, the Volkswagen group's other new longitudinal-engine, large vehicle platform, MLB Evo, debuts beneath the new Q7 and will underpin all Audi passenger cars from the new A4 to the new A8.

In a move that will mirror Maserati's Quattroporte-base Ghibli, the Pajun will be most closely related to the new Panamera due in 2016, and is likely to be built alongside it, the Cayenne and Macan in Leipzig.

Porsche's second-generation Panamera is again expected to be produced in V6 petrol-electric plug-in hybrid guise, so it remains unclear whether the Pajun will be a pure EV or a PHEV.

Either way, it should benefit from the same weight savings that will make the new Panamera S E-Hybrid at least 100kg lighter than the circa-2000kg model it replaces, while extensive use of high-strength steel, aluminium and even composite materials will also make it more rigid.

As evidenced by these latest images of a pre-production prototype undergoing cold-climate durability testing near the Arctic Circle, Porsche's next Panamera will not make big visual strides from a model that has found more than 100,000 homes globally since 2009.

While AMuS insists the Pajun will be a dedicated EV, the Panamera will continue to be available with a range of diesel and petrol engines, including a downsized twin-turbo V6 for the S and a twin-turbo V8 for the Turbo, as well as the new Panamera S E-Hybrid with a lighter, higher-capacity battery.

There's no word on a revival of the other additional model Porsche has long been considering, following official confirmation in December that the sub-Boxster sports car project codenamed 718 has been axed.

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