What would happen if the Porsche 911 had a child with the 919 Hybrid? This would most likely be the Panaera 4 E-Hybrid. The fourth model to come out of the newly-revamped four-door sports car combines the utter performance of the Porsche brand with the efficiency of electric mobility.
The recipe is actually quite simple. You take the standard Panamera, throw in the new 2.9-liter V6 with 330hp and 450Nm of torque. Add a bit of electric motivation in the form of a 14.1kw lithium-ion battery that powers a 136hp/400Nm electric motor. The result is a combined system output of 462hp and 700Nm of twist.
All that instantaneous grunt (courtesy of the inert nature of the electric mill) allows the swoopy four-door to blast from a standstill to 100kph in just 4.6 seconds. Top speed is also a heady 278kph. And yes, all this doesn’t affect fuel economy as the hybrid system can go up to 50kms in full electric mode and still return around 40km/L even while cruising at 120kph.
Part of the equation is the advanced eight-speed PDK transmission that transfers power to all four corners. It lets the driver cruise efficiently in electric mode or drive fast and furiously with both motors doing the work. And the pilot can even monitor what’s going on with the car via the new Porsche Advanced Cockpit. This is a pair of seven-inch displays flanking the analogue tachometer (it still a Porsche, remember?) that can be customized to feed the driver with all the info he neds. It also puts special emphasis on what’s going in with the hybrid system.
To ensure that the battery is fully charged, a new 3.6kw charger tops up the juice in just 3.6 hours. But while this is a hybrid, the Sport and Sport Plus modes let the driver play and have a bit of guilt-free fun.
The Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid made its world debut at this year’s Paris Motor Show.
