Porsche certainly has done a couple of cool things in recent weeks, including showing off its Boxster E electric car and a 911 GT3 R hybrid with the names of Facebook fans printed on it. Both of these are overshadowed, however, by news that the automaker plans to debut at the Geneva Motor Show a hybrid based upon the popular Panamera design.
The Panamera S Hybrid, as Porsche calls it, is described as the most fuel efficient Porsche of all time. What does this mean exactly, when you consider Porsches aren’t exactly fuel sipping vehicles to begin with?
According to New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) data, this hybrid produces 380 horsepower with fuel consumption of only 6.8 L/100 km.
Official EPA fuel economy estimates will be available closer to the car’s on-sale date which, by the way, will be later this year for a nice hefty $95,000 price tag.
Performance for the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid is said to be acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.7 seconds, with a top track speed of 167 mph (270 km/h).
Its range in purely electric mode is approximately one mile, with electric-only acceleration possible up to just over 50 mph (85 km/h). This particular hybrid runs off of a parallel full hybrid system.
The Panamera S Hybrid sports the same gasoline engine/electric motor combination that is in the Cayenne S Hybrid, with a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 engine delivering 333 horsepower that is supported by a 47-horsepower (34 kW) electric motor.
The electric motor is connected to a nickel metal hydride (NiMh) battery that stores electric energy recovered from braking and other driving situations.
The transmission is the same eight-speed Tiptronic S fitted in the Cayenne models, with a wide range of gear ratios.
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Nino Marchetti, EarthTechling
