514kW for updated Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid

Plug-in hybrid electric power has created the fastest, most powerful four-door Porsche ever.

The soon-to-arrive updated Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid – priced from $420,800 plus on-road costs – now makes 514kW and 870Nm (up from 50kW/850Nm).

That leaves the flagship of the facelifted Panamera four-door lineup just 1kW shy of the fastest Porsche ever made – and the most powerful 911 sports car created to date – the 911 GT2 (515kW/750Nm).

The new PHEV Panamera continues a trend within Porsche towards electricity.

The upcoming Porsche Taycan electric car – the first BEV from Porsche – promises a new level of acceleration. With up to 560kW and 1050Nm when conducting a launch control start, the Taycan sets the template for modern Porsches. In 2021 Porsche will release the next generation Macan mid-sized SUV, which will be powered purely by batteries.

While it would be nice to think the electrical side of the Turbo S E-Hybrid’s powertrain – which is also expected to be utilised in the upcoming Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid – is what stepped performance up for this facelifted model, it’s not the case.

The 100kW electric motor is unchanged, although the battery pack has increased from 14.1 to 17.9kWh, extending the all-electric range (exact figures are yet to be released but will be more than the 50-odd-kilometres of the previous model).

Instead, it’s the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that now makes 420kW (up 16kW), providing the bulk of the grunt that can launch the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds (0.2 seconds faster than the car it replaces). Top speed is 315km/h.

There are also some significant changes in the way the Turbo S E-Hybrid is being positioned.

The lurid green paint – or Acid Green, as Porsche called it – once used on brake calipers, badges and other highlights of all electrified Porsches has disappeared from the Turbo S E-Hybrid.

Instead the badges and instrument cluster is no different to other Porsches, while the brake calipers are yellow, in line with the caliper colour used for Porsches with carbon-ceramic brake discs. The Turbo S E-Hybrid still gets the biggest brakes fitted to any production car, with enormous 10-piston front calipers.

In a sign Porsche still plans to play on the electric marketing, Acid Green will still be used on regular Panamera plug-in hybrids – the 4 E-Hybrid that will available as a regular Panamera hatch ($245,900), the Panamera Sport Turismo ($253,200) with a wagon-esque rump or longer Panamera Executive ($255,400) with more rear legroom.

Porsche Australia head of public relations, Chris Jordan, says interest continues to grow for hybrid Panameras, something anticipated to accelerate with these updated models.

“Hybrid is definitely growing in Australia and should do moreso with these models.”

The images you see here of the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid are all of the Executive with the longer wheelbase; Porsche has not released pictures of the regular Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which is the car that will arrive in Australia in Q1 2021.

The Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid also gets electric roll stabilisation (to resist leaning in corners), torque vectoring, rear wheel steering (to tighten the turning circle at low speeds and improve stability at high speeds) and dynamic chassis control with adjustable dampers.

The updated Panamera range – including the Turbo S E-Hybrid – is due in Australia early in 2021.