Porsche Planning New Panamera Models

Porsche has big plans for the Panamera. Over the next few years it is expected to be an engine of growth for the brand. Reviews for the car have begun to appear and most of the impressions are good. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the Panamera in person.

Will it look any better? Cars almost always do. It's just a question of how much better, since I've never been a big fan of the car's odd styling. We'll see.

The Panamera's model line is about to get pretty crowded. At launch there is three models, the standard Panamera S, AWD Panamera 4S and the twin-turbocharged Panamera Turbo. A V6, V6 hybrid, diesel engines and a Turbo S or GTS model are all on the table. Obviously the V6 would be the entry-level model of the range, but it unfortunately would not use the classic flat-six Porsche engine because of the shape of the Panamera's engine bay. 

The standard V6 model is just rumored but a Panamera hybrid (that would be powered the same V6) has been confirmed by Porsche. Porsche has also discussed openly the possibility of diesel-powered Panameras, pointing out it has many engines in the VW Group from which to choose from. 

A sportier variant, dubbed either Turbo S or GTS seems pretty assured. In fact, I'd say that all of these possibilities have a very high likelihood of getting approval from Porsche. It's good that they're still working on performance models too; all this talk of hybrids, VW/Audi-sourced diesels and V6 engines has me a bit worried they could lose their performance focus.