Here’s what appears
to be a current-generation Porsche Panamera Turbo spotted by spy
photographers pounding around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, with a curious
observation; this particular car has been spotted with rather aggressive
aerodynamics treatments, namely dive planes on its front bumper and an enlarged
rear wing where the production Turbo’s Transformers-like item was located.
Another set of spy
photos (also included here) show the Panamera – presumably the same unit due to
the same registration plates worn – fitted with exhaust pipe extensions, though
in this case without the front dive planes; this could indicate powertrain
development work in progress.
Along with the
additions to the Panamera’s bodywork, a roll cage located in both the front and
rear occupant compartments can be seen inside the car, along with what appear
to be racing bucket seats in the front of the Panamera Turbo development car
here. These are curious additions of equipment for a luxury car, though they
could hint at a vast performance gain over the current range-topping Panamera
Turbo S E-Hybrid.
This means adding
further to the plug-in hybrid’s outputs of 680 hp and 850 Nm of torque, which
it channels to all four wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic
transmission. Our spy photographer sources say Porsche insiders ‘have
confirmed’ an output of 820 hp, which will be achieved from a tuned version of
an existing engine.
Specific details
have yet to surface as to how the 820 hp is targeted, though a prime candidate
will be the company’s 4.0 litre biturbo petrol V8 engine, and electric
assistance will certainly help in achieving that lofty figure. The most
powerful petrol-only production engine of this configuration from within the
Volkswagen Group resides in the Lamborghini Urus, with 650 PS and 850 Nm on
tap.
