BMW vs. Porsche - that's a drag race you expect to be filled with the sound of V8 engines. And it can be, but in this case, it's completely silent because we are looking at the 330e and Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, two plug-in hybrid cars.
We're quite proud of the no-nonsense approach BMW is taking. The Bavarian automaker is still making plenty of those powerful, frugal diesels that almost all its European customers want while targeting corporations with its new plug-in hybrids.
It's quite easy to forget that BMW was almost always into hybrids. Its Active Hybrid 5 was among the first such luxury vehicles, and while the i3 and i8 projects failed in some ways, they are still iconic.
But we can't find any flaws with the 330e, which is probably the best small executive sedan for fleets right now, super-cheap to tax and still packed with BMW core goodness. The powertrain itself relies on a 184 horsepower 2.0-liter turbo engine for everyday power delivery, but there's also an electric motor that's more than capable of powering the car when needed.
This produces 113 hp and 265 Nm (195 lb-ft). From what we understand, when the XtraBoost high-performance mode is engaged, the output is 133 hp from the e-motor, but we're more concerned with the electric performance in this situation.
GT Board used the most advanced and expensive four-door plug-in hybrid for this test. Normally, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid makes 680 hp, which sounds completely unfair in this situation. However, if you strip away the power of the V8 engine, you're left with just 136 hp from the electric motor, which in a car weighing about 2.4 tons isn't that much.
In this super-slow drag race, the Panamera pulls away rapidly from the line, probably due to a superior launch control system. After that, the gap grows quite slowly.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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