Ready to plug your Porsche into the 21st Century?
If you own the 2018 Porsche Panamera, the top of the line model that money can buy that also happens to be on the Christmas list of all our Porsche technicians (hint, hint, they’ve been good this year), you’ll be able to. Porsche Cars North America’s Chief Operating Officer Joe Lawrence tells Green Car Reports that next year’s model will be a plug in hybrid model.
Unveiled at the Geneva auto show, the car features a 550-hp 4.0-liter turbocharged V-8 with a 101 kw (136 hp) electric motor for a combined output of 680 hp. Its powered by a 14.1-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery that can run up to 31 miles on the New European Driving Cycle.
Keeping the Fast Lane Green and Pristine
Yet Porsche has taken a performance focused approach with its hybrid, so enthusiasts can go green without slowing down. Good thing Porsche brakes work as well as they do.
“Every (Panamera) engine is turbocharged now. When we add electrification, you get what you used to get from turbocharging, as far as performance goes,” Lawrence told Green Car Reports. “It appeals to someone who is a Porsche enthusiast, but it also appeals to someone who’s into hybrid cars and has an attachment to hybrid cars, better fuel economy, and green driving.”
