The New Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Packs 462 HP of Gas-Electric Goodness
Efficiency and performance, in equal measure.
When Porsche drops hybrid technology into a car, it almost always does so with the intention of boosting both performance and efficiency—and the new Porsche Panamera 4 e-Hybrid's story is no different.
The Panamera 4 e-Hybrid, announced Friday, is the new plug-in hybrid model of Porsche's second-generation Panamera. It is powered by the same 2.9-liter V6 twin-turbo motor seen in the Panamera 4S, but for hybrid duty, it's been detuned to 330 horsepower. Combined with a a 136-hp electric motor, however, the new Panamera e-Hybrid puts down a maximum combined output of 462 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Channeling that power to all four wheels via the car's updated PDK transmission, Porsche claims the car maxes out at 172 miles per hour, and is capable of launching from a standstill to the 62 mph mark in 4.6 seconds. Not bad for a stately plug-in hybrid.
But this Porsche isn't just about speed. Using its 14.1-kWh liquid-cooled battery, the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid can travel 31 miles without using a drop of gasoline. In full-electric mode, the electric Panamera has a top speed of 87 miles per hour. With a 240-volt charger, the plug-in Panamera's battery can charge up in a little more than three hours. And with four separate driving modes that control the interplay between the gas and electric motors, drivers can choose how and when to dish out all that power for maximum efficiency—or maximum fun.
And of course, the e-Hybrid is still a Panamera, so it comes with many of the same luxury touches as the rest of its family. Porsche's press release made no mention of the futuristic InnoDrive cruise control or the fancy active roll cancellation suspension, but considering the e-Hybrid's tech-forward mission (and Porsche's love for offering expensive options), we'd be shocked not to find those features on the order sheet.
The plug-in sedan will make its global debut at the upcoming Paris Motor Show; production examples will start shipping out across Europe in April of 2017, with deliveries to the rest of the world following soon thereafter.
