2018 Porsche Panamera wagon set to get 500kW V8 hybrid power

PORSCHE will follow the freshly unveiled Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid flagship with a Sport Turismo wagon version that shares its potent 500kW/850Nm petrol-electric powertrain and vicious range-topping performance.

While the hybridised sedan version gets a 100kW electric boost for its 4.0-litre V8, the most powerful Sport Turismo variant currently offered in Australia is the petrol powered Turbo, but that’s set to change. Fans of the shooting brake Panamera will soon be offered the electrified V8 version as well.

Speaking at the global launch of the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, Porsche global technical communications manager Herman-Josef Stappen did not say when the new version would be added to the range, but confirmed that a hybrid flagship of the Sport Turismo was on the way.

“The powertrains are the same, so that later on there will be a Sport Turismo version,” he said.

In Australia, the Sport Turismo order books are already open, with local buyers offered a choice of five variants from the $232,500 Panamera 4 Sport Turismo to the $390,700 Turbo Sport Turismo, with a mid-range V6 turbo hybrid, but an electrified V8 version is still absent.

Porsche Australia public relations specialist Stephanie Weiser said the potential of a sixth version was hard to predict, but a warm early reception of the Panamera hybrid was building a good case for an even higher-performance wagon version.

"We are expecting 10 percent of total Panamera volume to be Sport Turismo, and that is incremental (on-top). Overall the initial response for Panamera Hybrid is very encouraging, so we could offer it."

Performance figures for the Sport Turismo Turbo S E-Hybrid are yet to go public but the current Sport Turismo range topper Turbo shares a performance pegging with the sedan equivalent. Turbo S E-Hybrid versions, therefore, are unlikely to differ from the Panamera sedan’s zero to 100km/h dash in 3.8 seconds or 3.6 with launch control.

With a different aerodynamic profile, Sport Turismo versions of the Panamera might even crack a faster top speed compared with its sedan sibling, but Porsche is also yet to come clean on figures and whether the wagon can better the current 310km/h V-max.

Beyond the more practical Sport Turismo body, the two large passenger Porsches share a majority of mechanical and technical specifications. If the Turbo S E-Hybrid wagon rolls into Australian showrooms, customers will likely benefit from the same rear axle steering, three-chamber air suspension system, all-paw traction, eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and a long line of luxury standard fit features.