Porsche has prepared an update for their first ever 4-door saloon car, the Panamera, which will be showcased at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show in China on 21st of this month. The 2014 Porsche Panamera will be launched in Europe in July 2013. Porsche has given the car a facelift with new headlamps, indicators, bumpers, tailgate, larger vents, a relocated number plate holder as well as new LED tail light clusters. The Panamera can now also be ordered with new LED headlights, available as an option.
Porsche has added a new Executive version for the Turbo and 4S models with an extended wheelbase, many additional luxury features and a more comfortable ride quality. This version has a wheelbase longer by 150 mm which gives a lot more legroom for rear passengers. Porsche has replaced the 4.8-litre V8 engine with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine for the S, 4S and 4S Executive models. This engine produces better output than the V8, 410 BHP and 520 Nm of torque, along with better fuel efficiency.
The Panamera S E-Hybrid model too has been updated and gets a V6 engine producing 316 BHP and an electric motor producing 94 BHP taking the total to 410 BHP. The lithium-ion battery is much bigger with 9.4 kWh capacity. The E-Hybrid is claimed to deliver an average fuel efficiency of 30 km/litre. The vehicle can run on batteries alone for 36 kms and can reach speeds upto 135 km/hr. The battery charges via the integrated on-board charger and the Porsche Universal Charger in just 2.5 hours and in 4 hours through any household electrical point. The Panamera E-Hybrid accelerates from 0 to 100 km/hr in 5.5 seconds and has a top speed of 270 km/hr.
Porsche has ditched the manual transmission for the Panamera completely and only the 7-speed PDK and the 8-speed Tiptronic S gearboxes are available. The latter is available only on the Diesel and E-Hybrid models and the former with the rest of the variants. Porsche will introduce a new 300 BHP diesel engine for the Panamera in 2014. The 2014 Porsche Panamera is priced at an equivalent of around Rs. 60 lakhs as basic price in Germany.
