The Porsche Panamera is going electric, but not all electric.
The German sports car maker is planning to release an EV variant powerful four-door grand tourer, but that won’t mark the end of gas-powered or hybrid versions, according to Autocar. All three Panameras are expected to co-exist well into the next decade.
Porsche may not be certainly its electrification efforts like some of its peers, but its research and development boss Michael Steiner told the British publication it’s not about to give up on the internal combustion engine either. The well-regarded Taycan, Macan (starting next year), and 718 replacement will only come with electric powertrains, but the Cayenne and Panamera are expected to be available with gas-powered mills (either by itself or mated to an electric motor) for some time longer. The brand’s most famous model, the 911, has gone hybrid but a fully electric version remains a ways off.
The gas and hybrid version of the Cayenne aren’t going anywhere either.
Porsche
“The new Cayenne is fully electric, but for its whole lifespan we will have the ICE version in parallel,” Steiner told the magazine. “It’s the same for the Panamera, and we’ve also just brought an update to the Porsche 911 with a hybrid powertrain.”
It makes sense to keep the ICE Panamera around for a bit longer. The third and most recent generation was only introduced last fall after all. It features a subtly refined design and a new air suspension (Porsche Active Ride is available as an option on the hybrid models), The most powerful gas model is the GTS, which is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 that produces 493 hp and 486 ft lbs of torque, while the most potent hybrid, the Turbo S E-Hybrid, has an electrified version of the same mill that makes 771 hp and 737 ft lbs of torque. The GTS can sprint from zero to 60 in 3.6 seconds and has a top speed of 186 mph, while the Turbo S E-Hybrid can hit 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and has a top speed of 202 mph.
Porsche may have no plans to kill off the gas and hybrid versions of the Cayenne and Panamera, but it would like (and will be prepared for) 80 percent of the vehicles it sells to be EVs by 2030, according to Steiner. It doesn’t sound as if the company will be too put out if it misses that target, though. It’s preparing for all eventualities, including investing heavily in synthetic e-fuels. The company believes that e-fuels could even allow it to keep selling vehicles with combustion engines past 2035.
