Panamera E-Hybrid Sport Turismo Packs Epic Power into a Wagon’s Body
Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo is part performance sedan, part wagon, part hybrid, and 100 percent badass.
What is the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo, aside from an absolute mouthful of a name? According to Carfection‘s Henry Catchpole, who recently tested it on the winding roads of Wales, it’s “the most diverse car” he’s ever driven.
That’s because it’s so many vehicles in one. It packs the gas engine of a regular Panamera Turbo S with the battery and electric power of a hybrid and the lines of a wagon (Sport Turismo in Porsche speak). And that E-Hybrid setup makes Catchpole think of the 918 Spyder.
The gasoline half of the Sport Turismo is a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 with 542 horsepower (550 PS). That joins forces with a 134-horsepower electric motor and 14.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Total output is 670 horsepower (680 PS) and 627 lb-ft of torque, which the Sport Turismo routes through all-wheel drive. Of course, putting two powertrains in one car adds quite a bit of weight to it; the Sport Turismo tips the scales at 5,126 pounds (2,325 kg).
All Catchpole has to do to switch from the Sport Turimso’s E mode to Sport+ setting is turn a dial on the steering wheel. The V8 immediately lets out a raspy roar which hints at the car’s true potential. Flat out (and with the available Sport Chrono package), the Sport Turismo can blast to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 192 mph. Catchpole says, “It’s just absurd how the car can change personality that much.”
ALSO SEE: Bugatti Chiron Driven: 1,500 Horsepower of Engineering Excellence
What also stuns Catchpole is the fact that Porsche managed to turn the Panamera, which he thinks is one of the ugliest cars out there, into one of the most attractive offerings on the market by adding cool shooting brake-/wagon-esque body work. According to Catchpole, “That rear … looks so muscular and … very attractive.”
Catchpole’s Sport Turismo test vehicle is also a combination of a long list of Porsche acronyms, including PDK (Porsche DoppelKupplung), PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management), PTV (Porsche Torque Vectoring), and PCCB (Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake). Those various systems and the Sport Turismo’s power and space make it the ideal chase vehicle for filming Carfection‘s video review of the McLaren 720S. It’s comfortable on straight and even bumpy roads. In turns, it handles with a shocking flatness. Four-wheel steering virtually shortens the wheelbase, making the large car feel a little smaller and more manageable. Despite its figures on the scale, the Sport Turismo only reveals its heft at speed when Catchpole forces it to.
With a starting price of $190,200, the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo is far from cheap, but then again, when you put that kind of money down, you do get a few vehicles in one unusual and attractive package, don’t you?
Join the 6SpeedOnline forums today!
