The Panamera Sport Turismo is
Porsche’s first wagon-esque model that is based on the second-generation
Panamera, sporting a longer roofline and a tailgate with a lower loading edge
for ease of cargo access and retrieval. Two years on, the 4+1 shooting brake
has now been spotted undergoing development trials for a mid-lifecycle
facelift. What appears to be a Turbo-style front bumper is actually camouflage;
The dual-strip DRLs appear to be fake stickers, with a rough-looking shroud
applied to the central part of the front bumper around the license plate. The
headlamp assembly with four-point LED DRLs appear similar to those on the
present model.
The rear end of the Panamera Sport Turismo is also a
work in progress. The rear lamp assembly appears mildly redesigned, where the
central light strip now appears more integrated with the main tail lamp
elements; these now appear closer to the upper edge where they were previously
lower and surrounded by the outer loop.
Possibly also a work in progress are the exhaust
outlets; if this is in fact the top Turbo variant, it traditionally wears quad
rectangular exhausts instead of the rounded outlets seen here. The adaptive,
extendible roof spoiler appears to be carried over to the facelift here, which
Porsche says adds up to 50 kg of downforce over the Sport Turismo’s rear axle.
Minor interior changes can be expected, such as the
steering wheel which could adopt the design currently used in the
992-generation Porsche 911. On the powertrain front, the revised Panamera Sport
Turismo is expected to adopt the mild-hybrid setup as seen on the latest Audi
S6 and S7, our sources suggest, albeit pairing a 48-volt electrical
architecture with the 2.9 litre biturbo V6 the companies currently use.
This should aid in both efficiency and emissions as
well as boosting power and torque outputs, on top of the 440 PS and 550 Nm of
torque the 2.9 litre biturbo V6 unit produced in ICE-only guise. The petrol
units are also likely to gain particulate filters to further help with
compliance to tightening emissions regulations.
