New Porsche Panamera 4 e Hybrid announced
14kw
4 wheel drive
0-60 in 4.4 sec
462 hp


Sounds very interesting. See link below.

http://www.porsche.com/microsite/pan...sue/3/e-hybrid

 

Yeah, I got that same email as well.

Drivetrain is a 330 HP twin-turbo 2.9 liter V6 plus a 136 HP electric motor and the same dual-clutch manual transmission in the regular Panameras. So, basically upping the electric motor from 95 to 136 HP compared to the 2014 SeH, all wheel drive, and a better transmission.

When I saw the title 4 E Hybrid, I thought maybe they'd downgraded power. Previously it was badged as an S since total power production was on par with the regular Panamera S. Even though that's still true, they're badging it as a level lower than the 4S. I wonder if they'll price at accordingly. Recall that the SeH started at a $4k premium to the S and is now the same price, despite having some options that are extra in the S.

The mode dial now names the Hybrid mode, which had no indicator or name in the SeH even though it existed, and a "Hold" mode, which tries to keep the battery charge steady. I kinda thought the Hybrid mode used to do that, but I never used Hybrid until forced to by battery depletion, so I don't know for certain. It was always e-Power or Sport.

Claimed electric range is now "31 miles," but I expect it'll be more like 24 city / 33 highway, based on my experience with the SeH. It's possible they've done something about the regeneration, which wasn't very aggressive. Most PHEV's get better city mileage than highway, but the PSeH didn't, which I chalk up to it not recovering as much energy as it could from braking.

The larger battery is nice, but it seems like the larger electric motor are 4 wheel drive are more important. If I still owned a PSeH, I'd be more interested to see if they'd done something about how pokey e-Power mode felt compared to Sport. I'm driving a 991.1 4S now, and I still mess with the mode (normal vs. Sport), but the difference isn't nearly as dramatic as it was with the SeH. I don't feel that I must be in Sport mode if I want meaningful power, as I did with the SeH.

 

I think this is a MAJOR advance from the previous S-e Hybrid. I think they put some major effort into this. Adding PDK, possibly reducing weight a little (?), and making the electric mode completely usable regardless of throttle position is a huge improvement- i.e. you can utilize the electric torque anytime. Now you've got a car that's nearly as quick as a 997 Carrera S. This now becomes a pretty sweet option.

 

You always got the electric torque with the S e-Hybrid. What gave you the impression that you didn't?

It still felt pretty slow if you were in e-Power mode. Throttle to the floor, it was slower in e-Power than in Sport. Which was weird and irritating, you'd think it'd be the same if you were clearly demanding everything. I think it was the shift patterns in e-Power.

 

Well...I read that in the old version you had to have the pedal pushed 80% of the way down to get the full electric torque.
And now they've got the PDK mated with it, more torque electrically, quicker shifting-ditched the old transmission.

 

Hmmm. That is what the e-Mobility ad supplement says. "In Sport mode, boost is activated when the gas pedal position reaches 80%."

However, that's not my actual experience. My experience is that the electric motor always kicks in first. In e-Power mode, you get nothing but electric until a certain point in the throttle, and then gas engages and you're using both. In Sport, you're getting both all the time, but you're not getting the full power from both unless you floor it.

I have no idea how much electric power Sport uses at, say, 50% throttle, but there's no question that it uses the electric power to get the car moving from a dead stop. If the engine shuts off at a stop - which it does sometimes even in Sport mode - there's a delay between moving and gas engine engaging. Particularly if you're very light on the throttle because it's stop-and-go traffic.

There's this oddball "power meter" next to the tach. The first 25% is a a green band marked "efficiency," and if you stay within that and you're in e-Power mode, the gasonline engine is supposed to stay off (though it doesn't always). It goes to 125%, with anything over 100% marked as "boost." Which makes it sound like it's gas-only up to 100%, but it's definitely not like that.

It's probably marketing's spin on what's actually going on, talking about "boost."

 

When the **** is the GTS coming out

 

I wonder what they've done with the weight as well...I read that the previous S e-Hybrid was fairly heavy...


I think all the 919 Hybrid development is going to really help a lot of Porsche hybrids...Cayenne and Panamera first up, apparently.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the 4 e-Hybrid actually gained weight delta vs. the other models. While the base Panamera platform has lost weight, they've increased the battery capacity, and that probably means a significant weight gain. It wasn't the hybrid powertrain in the 2014-2016 SeH that was heavy, it was the battery.

 

It will be interesting to see the technology that will be required to make it handle with all that battery weight. If they can pull it off, I would expect it to replace the 440hp gas "S" model, as the European regulators drive down the allowable emissions.

 

Weight's not really that big of a liability in handling. Straight line acceleration, top speed, anything where power / weight matters, sure, weight's a serious issue. But cornering isn't affected so much because it's a matter of tire grip and center of gravity. Tire grip is friction, which means it's directly proportional to area, downward force, and coefficient of friction. Since lateral force during cornering also increases with weight, the two cancel out.

This is why the current Panamera Turbo, which weighs in at 4300 pounds, isn't that much worse than cornering than a 911 weighing in at 3100 pounds. The real issues are more the shape of the car (i.e. length of wheelbase) and weight distribution (i.e. front vs. rear vs. mid engine designs). The 911 being lower profile overall with a lower center of gravity helps too.