Porsche Trots Out Peppered-up 2021 Panamera; More HP, Higher Top Speed
Faster, more powerful Panamera with better handling just the thing to make your summer sizzle.
Porsche has unveiled its fresh-for-2021 Panamera complete with a hot new 620 hp 4.0-liter biturbo V8 Turbo S flagship that not only gains 79 horses but also an extra 37 foot pounds to see torque up to 604 lb.-ft for a significant half-second 0-60 mph improvement to a dizzying 2.9 seconds. Top speed is up six-miles-an-hour to 196 mph.
That was enough to establish a new 7-minute, 29.81-second Nürburgring Nordscheife lap record on the new, slightly longer official lap, that Porsche reckons, eclipses the albeit slightly quicker lap set by a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4 Door on the shorter, old track. But there’s more to it than all that as Porsche has further added new powertrain options, updated Panamera’s technology, tweaked the chassis and worked on that look, too.
Slipping in under Turbo S the Panamera GTS has also been spruced up to better plug the gap that would otherwise have opened beneath the stronger flagship, with its biturbo 4-litre V8 also gaining 19 horses to 473 hp along with 457 lb.-ft torque in an engine that is said to run more like an old school normally aspirated car, while its stock sports exhaust burbles a traditional V8 beat. Tasty!
There’s good reason why the GTS is more powerful too, and that’s because the new Panamera 4S E-Hybrid has 552 hp and 553 lb.-ft on tap from a combination of a 434 hp 2.9-litre biturbo V6 coupled with a 134 hp e-motor, which is now integrated into the eight-speed transmission.
That’s almost a hundred horses stronger than the outgoing 456 bhp 4 E-Hybrid. Add the Sport Chrono Package and 4S E-Hybrid trots to 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds and on to 185 mph top end. But wait, there’s more! The Panamera 4S E-Hybrid now has a 17.9 kWh battery pack with optimised cells that uses revised driving modes to not only dramatically improve efficiency, but its 34 mile battery-only range is 30 percent up on the old car too.
Looking at its other enhancements, the 2021 Panamera also gains model-specific air suspension, PASM management, dynamic chassis control and roll stabilisation upgrades that Porsche promises benefit both comfort and sportiness, thanks in part to a sharper and more responsive steering set-up and tyre specification advances.
The Panamera Turbo S adds standard PDCC Sport roll-stabilization, PTV Plus Torque Vectoring and 420 mm front and 410 mm rear PCCB Ceramic Composite Brakes, all of which aspects are also optional fitment on the other Panamera models.
Don’t look too hard for those styling upgrades — they’re subtle across all three saloon, Sport Turismo estate and long-wheelbase executive models. All variants get the new headlamp design, while the GTS and 4S E-Hybrid now have the previously exclusive Sport Design front end with greedier air intakes, a revised grille and single-bar front light model as standard fitment.
The Turbo S has its own front end look, with even bigger side intakes and new design elements, while three new 20 and 21-inch wheel designs bring the choice of rims up to ten, across the range. Moving to the rear, Panamera’s full-width LED taillight now runs seamlessly across the bootlid and the lights gain a dynamic coming/leaving home function.
There’s not all that much to shout about inside, bar a few new functions the likes of live road sign and hazard info, improved voice control and wireless Apple CarPlay, which are now  added to the infotainment system. Driver assist functions are also now extended to include standard Lane Keeping Assist and road sign recognition.
U.S. pricing will be confirmed when the 2021 Porsche opens the order books open early next year, with deliveries commencing in spring 2021. Just in time for the hot new Panamera to make your summer really sizzle!
Photos: Porsche
