Preview: 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

Story by John LeBlanc FRANKFURT, GERMANY – During the 1970s, the combination of the fuel shortages and growing concerns about poor air quality caused by tailpipe emissions nearly brought the death of high-performance cars. Here we are four decades later, and the problems of high demand for fossil fuels and making cars cleaner haven’t gone away. Instead of compromising performance, however, automakers are using electricity to replace displacement. Take for example the new 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid. Conveniently ignoring the troubles of the Fisker Karma, Porsche is claiming its new Panamera S E-Hybrid is “the world’s first luxury plug-in hybrid.” At the very least, it’s the “first” from a credible company. Marketing rhetoric aside, the Porsche plug-in promises the performance of its gas-only V8 brothers but the fuel economy of a compact hybrid. The new Panamera S E-Hybrid plug-in replaces the outgoing non-plug-in Panamera S Hybrid that arrived for 2012 and shared its gas-electric powertrain with the Cayenne Hybrid (that continues with the older setup, for now) and is only part of a mid-cycle redesign we first saw at last month’s Shanghai auto show that sees the entire 2+2 Panamera grand touring lineup get sharper exterior styling, interior upgrades, more powerful six- and eight-cylinder gas engines and newly added Executive stretched-wheelbase versions. In almost every performance parameter, the new rear-wheel-drive Panamera plug-in hybrid improves on its non-plug-in predecessor. The 2014 version is still a full, parallel hybrid. That means its Audi-sourced 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder gas engine and electric motor act on the powertrain either individually or together — parallel — via an eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic gearbox. But with a new electric motor that nearly doubles its power output from 47 to 95 horsepower, the combined gas-electric ratings go from 380 to 416 horsepower (just 14 hp shy of the gas-V8 model) and 428 to 435 pound-feet of torque. As such, the Panamera hybrid’s zero-to-100-km/h time drops from 6.0 to 5.5 seconds — or 0.4 seconds off the pace of the Panamera S V8. More significant is the projected savings in fuel. When the first Panamera hybrid was launched, it was hailed as "the most fuel-efficient Porsche ever" with a 6.8 L/100 km European cycle estimate. But now with more electrical power on board (new lithium-ion batteries offer a 9.4 kilowatt per hour storage capacity, compared to the older version’s 1.7 kw/h rating) the Panamera S E-Hybrid’s estimate drops to 3.1 L/100 km — shockingly similar to a Toyota Prius C hybrid. Beyond the obvious difference that you can now recharge the Panamera hybrid’s batteries, the 2014 plug-in version also gains four driver-selectable driving modes. Accessed via buttons on the Panamera’s expansive console that sits between its pair of front seats, you can choose between E-Power (pure-electric power), Hybrid (a mix of gas and electric power), E-Charge (that recharges the batteries while driving) and Sport (which allows for full-on e-boost). For its own testing purposes, Porsche created a so-called “Stuttgart Circuit,” a 53.5-kilometre test drive route that blended city, suburban, highway and changes in elevation. By religiously using all four of the car's modes, the new plug-in Panamera scored 4.4 L/100 km — a 56% improvement compared to the older hybrid’s 9.9 number. Unlike some electric vehicle makers, Porsche is being realistic with the Panamera S E-Hybrid's electric-only range projections. In rare, near-perfect conditions (i.e. external temperatures that don’t require cockpit heating, cooling or defrosting), you can drive the Panamera plug-in 36 kilometres between charges, or about what the Chevrolet Volt will do. In real-world conditions, though, Porsche says to expect between 18 and 30 kilometres as a realistic range. With only a handful of prototypes pulled reluctantly from Porsche’s engineers still working on final production specs, we media types were chauffeured in the back of the Panamera S E-Hybrid — just like a typical Frankfurt bank executive. From there, the marriage of the Panamera S E-Hybrid’s gas engine and electric motor was seamless. Our driver silently moved the plug-in hybrid sedan through small town streets on e-power only, then to upwards of 270 km/h on the autobahn with the ease and comfort we’ve grown accustomed to in Porsche’s big GT car. That said, I'll have an opportunity to drive the new plug-in version (and the rest of the 2014 Panamera models) at the end of June. While the new Panamera plug-in may seem like a panacea for those looking for performance and efficiency, its $113,300 starting price ($4,600 more than the original Panamera Hybrid and $6,700 more than a current V8 model) and the fact Porsche only offers it in rear-wheel-drive, are two hindrances to it becoming a sales juggernaut. (Last year in Canada, only 5 % of Panamera sales were of the hybrid model; the most-popular being the all-wheel-drive Panamera 4.) However, electrified cars like the new 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid disprove the old axiom that there is no substitute for cubic inches. And the big GT car is only the start for the German automaker. Porsche will not confirm, but logic says the Panamera’s plug-in technology will be applied to the Cayenne SUV eventually. And even more exciting, next year we’ll see Porsche’s 918 Spyder, a 795 hp, gas-electric supercar that sips fuel at a rate of only 3.0 L/100 km.

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