Porsche Sport Turismo Concept styling, hybrid system coming to production models

The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Concept (shown on the right in the gallery – click any thumbnail for bigger pictures) looked very much like the current production Panamera but in addition to the longer roofline and larger cargo space – the Sport Turismo Concept featured a new internal headlight structure, a new tail light design that bears a resemblance to the current 911 lineup and a revamped hybrid drivetrain that offers more power and more versatility than the current hybrid system at use in the likes of the Panamera Hybrid S. According to Motor Trend via an interview with Porsche CEO Matthias Müller, the styling features that set the Sport Turismo Concept apart for the production Panamera will soon will soon arrive across the entire brand lineup while the new plug-in hybrid system will soon be offered in future Panamera and Cayenne models.

The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Concept headlights have four protruding lighting units enclosed behind the large lens and this is a design that the German automaker plans to implement across the entire brand lineup. The new Porsche Macan small sport utility vehicle will be the first production model to sport these new lights but the full brand will soon feature this design. Since the Macan is said to be the first new Porsche model with these lights, we would expect that the Panamera would be soon to follow since the company already has a lighting design that will fit right into the popular 4-door Porsche.

The long, slender taillights of the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Concept are similar to the basic design of the lights on the rear of the 2012 Porsche 911 while the housing that runs the length of the back end provides a very sporty, sleek look. Müller told MT that the upcoming Macan will also have a tail light design similar to this and while no other plans for the tail lights of the Sport Turismo have been discussed – we would be shocked if these rear lights didn’t show up on the production Panamera in the not-so-distant future as well.

Last but certainly not least is the new plug-in hybrid drivetrain from the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Concept that the German auto boss told Motor Trend would soon arrive in the Panamera Hybrid and Cayenne Hybrid. This hybrid drivetrain is similar to the one currently at work in these production hybrid luxury models starting with a supercharged 3.0L V6 that produces 333 horsepower but the new hybrid drivetrain uses an electric assist motor that adds 95 horsepower of its own. This is roughly double the output of the electric motor in the current production Panamera Hybrid with the total system output reaching 416 horsepower when the two drivetrain items are working together. This allows the Sport Turismo to move out from 0 to 62 miles per hour in less than 6 seconds but more importantly – this new hybrid system will allow the Panamera to travel up to 18 miles purely on electric with an all-electric top speed of 80 miles per hour. Finally, this new hybrid system features plug-in capabilities that are not available on the current Panamera and Cayenne hybrid models. By simply plugging into a wall socket using the provided Porsche charging system, this hybrid system can fully charge the battery in about 2 and a half hours.

It will be interesting to see whether this new plug-in hybrid drivetrain is added to the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne Hybrid lineup or if it completely replaces the current (non plug-in) hybrid system. In either case, it will also be interesting to see how much of an upcharge comes with this far more capable drivetrain when it arrives in the near future. This new plug-in hybrid drivetrain offers a spread of advantages over the current hybrid system and with improvement often comes increases in prices.

Source: Motor Trend