Porsche Panamera Turbo S and Diesel

THE PORSCHE Panamera Diesel is for those wanting maximum efficiency, ease and comfort from their long-distance tourer. Photos by Botchi Santos

FRANKFURT—The Porsche Panamera was the first modern Gran Turismo to be able to combine the luxury of a limousine with the performance of a sports car. Even the most ardent of purists cannot contest the performance the Panamera offered, more so in the Turbo variant.

Not to rest on its laurels, Porsche has unveiled two new variants to further excite well-heeled enthusiasts needing a fast but practical means of transportation. Enter the Porsche Panamera Turbo S, catering to those who desire extreme performance out of their Gran Turismo, and the Panamera Diesel for those wanting maximum efficiency, ease and comfort from their long-distance tourer.

The Porsche Panamera Turbo S distinguishes itself from the other Panamera variants with the standard Turbo II wheels measuring 20×9.5 front and 20×11 rear wearing Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tires sized 255/40R20 front tires and 295/35R20 rear tires. The rear wheels stick out 5 millimeters farther out back from under the fenders. There is a Porsche Panamera Turbo S logo at the back and Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes measuring 390mm front rotors with 6-piston calipers and 350mm rear rotors with 4-piston calipers as standard.

THE PORSCHE Panamera Turbo S caters to those who desire extreme performance out of their Gran Turismo.

A new color trim specific to the Panamera Turbo S, Agate Grey with cream leather interior is also new. Sport Chrono Package which liberates more torque and mid-range horsepower for 10 seconds at a time plus a lap-timer/counter on the center console is also standard. A new Driving Dynamics Display appears on the right-most screen on the instrument cluster to show maximum lateral and longitudinal accelerative force, providing useful information on how fast your Panamera Turbo S starts, stops and corners.

The 4.8 liter 4-cam direct injection V8 engine is similar to the regular Turbo, but utilizes a new Titanium/Aluminum Compressor Wheel and shaft developed by Porsche and supplied by Mitsubishi Turbo. The new compressor wheel weighs 50 grams less but offers much-improved flow dynamics, allowing the turbochargers to flow more air at lower wheel RPM and to spool-up and hit the target 1 bar of boost in half the time as the regular turbochargers. In doing so, the Panamera Turbo S uses the same amount of fuel as the Panamera Turbo but achieves an increase of 50 horsepower and 50 Newton-meters of torque in Sport Plus over-boost mode, the net output being 550 hp and 800 Newton-Meters of torque.

Porsche’s dual wet-clutch PDK system supplied by ZF, with seven forward gears harnesses this power and is unleashed through the highly advanced, active all-wheel drive transmission dubbed Porsche Traction Management (PTM). Working in unison with the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus), Porsche Stability Management (PTM) and lastly, Porsche Dynamic Driving Control (PDCC), the Panamera Turbo S features the smartest, most stable driveline and chassis stabilization system on the market.

In the softest comfort-oriented mode, the PDCC disengages the hydraulically controlled active front and rear roll-bars to give greater compliance. The PDCC increases the roll stiffness of the front and rear roll-bars by applying hydraulic pressure on the centers of the roll-bars. In full comfort mode, the PDCC can completely disengage the active roll-bars. The PTM freely adjusts torque distribution between the front and rear axle that has greater grip, providing the driver greater control and stability especially in adverse driving conditions. In the event of excessive wheel-spin or emergency avoidance maneuvers, the PTM disengages the front and rear axles as needed from the center differential.