Porsche Panamera Hybrid 0394 a7re
Bruce Newton27 Jan 2017
NEWS

Panamera V8 plug-in coming

Porsche set to expand hybrid offer; 918-style tech filters down

A high-performance V8-engined Panamera petrol-electric plug-in luxury car is tipped to be the next step in Porsche’s plan to dramatically grow its hybrid line-up and place a heavy emphasis on performance with the technology.

Porsche has launched one new-generation petrol-electric plug-in hybrid so far in the form of the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid (pictured).

This car is powered by a 2.9-litre V6 combined with a 100kW electric motor fitted between the engine and an eight-speed PDK double clutch transmission. Total system output is mammoth 700Nm, which is controlled using the same performance strategy as the 918 Spyder supercar. In our first launch drive of the new 4 E-Hybrid in South Africa this week the car demonstrated and indicative EV range of over 40km yet can accelerate 0-100km in 4.6sec.

The company had previously confirmed plans for a second Panamera plug-in but had kept its identity secret, but motoring.com.au has learned it will be a V8 with even higher performance than the 4 E-Hybrid. And it could break cover sooner rather than later.

Combining the electric motor with Porsche’s own dual clutch transmission rather than a torque converter auto (as Porsche did with the previous S E-Hybrid) means the technology is now available to a far wider line-up of the sports specialist’s longitudinal front engine rear/all-wheel drive cars. So that means Cayenne and Macan SUVs will also get the expanded hybrid treatment.

But a high-performance V8 version of the hybrid system for Panamera is due first up.

“With the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid we introduced our new hybrid strategy,” Panamera sales and marketing director Dr Stefan Utsch told motoring.com.au at the global launch of the new model in Cape Town this week.

“We will have two performance-oriented performance hybrids within the Panamera model line… The car you are driving today is the first step.

“Hybrid stands for additional performance. Hybrid is the performance kit of the future.

“Hybrid is a really important milestone because it combines performance and efficiency. Our overall development target was to increase the spread between performance and efficiency and the hybrid really is a good example that can deliver this,” Utsch told motoring.com.au.

But Utsch, like the Porsche engineers also at the launch, was loath to share too many details of the expansion plan. Asked specifically about the V8 he said: “There are a lot of options. The Panamera Turbo [V8] we offer right now as a combustion engine has right now the eight-speed PDK gearbox.”

It also has 404kW and 770Nm, which means a hybrid version could offer incredibly high performance.

What was made clear is that swapping engines off the front of the integrated PDK, electric motor and decoupler would be a much more straight-forward prospect than changing motors or remixing the chemistry of the Lithium-ion battery pack to boost outputs electrically.

“You can assume some parts will be introduced in both [hybrid] models. It will be based on what you see at the moment,” Panamera Electronics Director Robert Hahle told motoring.com.au.

“Changing the battery or the e-motor is something more difficult. It’s not so easy because of cooling and those sorts of things.”

Just how the Panamera V8 plug-in is badged and when it would appear are unclear. Porsche’s star of the Geneva motor show is expected to be the shooting brake or ‘Sport Turismo’ version of the Panamera. A super-high performance hybrid Porsche wagon would certainly garner attention.

“You will see it sometime in the future,” said Utsch.

Another option could be a new-generation GTS using the Turbo’s new 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 aided by electric propulsion to deliver big outputs. But the added weight of the hybrid system might not work with the handling-focussed profile of the GTS.

So a Turbo model makes more sense; so far Porsche has only announced the 4.0-litre V8 Panamera Turbo and has yet to detail the S Turbo. Could the hybrid drop in here as the S Turbo E-Hybrid?

Beyond the Panamera, the new generation Cayenne, which is scheduled for reveal within 12 months, will use similar drivetrains to the Panamera. The Macan could adapt four-cylinders as well as V6s to the strategy.

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