Yahoo Finance 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo: A 680-HP Station Wagon!
Operating any of the five Porsche Panamera Turbo models may cause a superiority complex that blocks judgment of normal behavior. After a week, the operator experiences intense hallucinations of power, followed by severe withdrawal when away from the vehicle. Now there is a sixth Panamera Turbo, the 2018 Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo, which scorns societal boundaries yet maintains the outer guise of a green-friendly family wagon.
Porsche’s parade of model variants predictably arrive like express trains, and there was never any doubt the most powerful Panamera powertrain would end up in the Sport Turismo body style, just as it appears in the sedan and long-wheelbase Executive sedan. The Turbo S E-Hybrid pairs the Turbo’s 550-hp twin-turbo V-8 with a 14.1-kWh lithium-ion battery and a 136-hp electric motor. The net 680 horsepower and 626 lb-ft of torque is funneled through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission to all four wheels.
Like the sedans, the baddest Sport Turismo bristles with performance gear. That includes standard carbon-ceramic brakes, torque vectoring, Porsche Active Suspension Management with adjustable-height air springs, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control Sport that counters lateral movement with the help of electromechanical anti-roll bars, Power Steering Plus that increases boost at low speeds, and the obligatory Sport Chrono Package that adds the dashtop stopwatch and selectable driving modes. As with the other Sport Turismo trims (4S, 4 E-Hybrid, and Turbo), the Turbo S E-Hybrid features an active a rear spoiler with three positions. At low speeds, the spoiler retracts and slopes downward seven degrees. Above 55 mph, the spoiler angles upward one degree to create up to 110 pounds of downforce. With the sunroof open at high speeds, the spoiler rises another 25 degrees to mitigate the wind’s fury.
At $189,450, this Sport Turismo costs $4000 more than the Turbo S E-Hybrid sedan, but saves you $6400 versus the Executive sedan. When deliveries commence next year, there won’t be much negotiating unless you find another luxury automaker selling a V-8 turbo hybrid station wagon that can near 190 mph. And if somehow that happens, we’re still not sure it would impart the same feeling.
