Porsche Reveals The Most Powerful Panamera Ever - And It's A Hybrid

Porsche has stepped-up its electric performance game big time with a 671bhp, 193mph Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.

It uses the same 542bhp V8 seen in the regular Panamera Turbo, but with a 134bhp motor acting as a booster to achieve the frankly silly power output. It has 99bhp more than the 911 Turbo S, for God’s sake. Torque is a handy 627lb ft, and you can bet that most of it is on tap at anything above 1500rpm.

It’s set for a Geneva Motor Show debut, where Porsche will confirm figures including a 3.4-second 0-62mph launch, making the Turbo E-Hybrid two tenths quicker than the Turbo. It’s also 3mph faster at the top end, although evo magazine has apparently logged a pre-production version at 197mph…

It can drive on electric power alone for up to 31 miles, which allows it to fudge the official fuel economy test to score a blatantly unrealistic 97.4mpg. We’d imagine even 27.4mpg would be optimistic on a spirited drive, but we’d love to find out.

Because the battery is smaller than those in a fully-electric car, it charges in six hours with a feeble 3.6kW charger but in less than 2.5 hours with 7.2kW power. Apparently it defaults to electric power on start-up, which could lead to the V8’s first, potentially demanding full-throttle use coming when there’s absolutely no oil circulating around the engine. Hmmm.

It’ll be built in standard and long-wheelbase options, with the latter adding 150mm to the wheelbase. Prices will start from £137,140 for the shorter Turbo E-Hybrid, and £146,545 for the longer one. But be prepared for a long and hideously expensive options list.