We're just five months away from the release of the 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar. But before Porsche unleashes that beast onto the world, we're getting a taste of all-electric performance Porsche-style in the form of the Panamera S E-Hybrid.
Based on the oh-so-subtly redesigned 2014 Panamera sedan, the S E-Hybrid takes the lessons learned from it first gas-electric model -- the Panamera S Hybrid -- and ups the ante with better batteries, more power and the ability to drive over 20 miles on electric power alone.
To start, the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the previous Panamera Hybrid remains, and when mated to a completely redesigned electric motor, offers up 416 horsepower and 435 pound-feet of torque in total. That combined output comes courtesy of a 95-hp electric motor -- a substantial boost over the original Panamera Hybrid's 47-hp electric mill.
More importantly, Porsche has ditched the old-school nickel-metal hydride battery pack, which was only good for 1.7 kWh of juice, and swapped it for a 9.4 kWh lithium-ion pack that's more modern, more energy dense and lighter. That pack allows around 20 miles of all-electric motoring and can be fully charged in about two and a half hours on a 240-volt outlet.
As for the rest of the stats, the S E-Hybrid is good for a 0-60 mph run of 5.2 seconds (that's faster than the Boxster), a top speed of 167 mph and can run all the way up to 84 mph without every ticking over the gasoline-powered V6. Porsche is also touting the plug-in hybrid's electric boost mode, that provides an electrically-assist shove when you mash the gas, as well as a coasting setting at higher speeds that shuts down the engine and relies solely on electric power to maintain momentum.
"[The S E-Hybrid] provides another opportunity for our customers to experience all-electric driving with Porsche attributes." Nick Twork, spokesman for Porsche U.S. told Wired.
While the Porsche purists will surely cry foul at this latest perceived dilution of the brand, when the Stuttgart brain-trust puts their collective engineering minds to something, they make magic. How else do you explain an SUV that's equally at home on the autobahn as the Baja and a hybrid sedan that was both eco-friendly and driver-focused? Now we have a plug-in hybrid sedan, and the doubters are running out of reasons to kvetch.
Porsche hasn't released EPA mileage figures yet, but it has released a price: $99,000 when the Panamera S E-Hybrid goes on sale later this year.
