The German automotive producer has started a series of eco initiatives, with the latest move being the plan to release a hybrid incarnation of the Panamera, with the vehicle being scheduled to hit the market sometime during next year.
According to autocar, the Panamera hybrid will use the same powertrain as the Cayenne hybrid. In other words, the premium saloon will be powered by a 3.0 liter V6 petrol engine that uses supercharging to deliver 333 hp (this engine is borrowed from the Audi S4). The unit will work together with an electric motor producing 46 hp.
This is a full parallel hybrid, which means that the propulsion power can be provided by the electric motor, the internal combustion engine, or both. In the Cayenne, the system uses an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The aforementioned hybrid powertrain pushes the Cayenne past the 62 mph in 6.5 seconds. This means that it will offer some serious performance for the Panamera, which should be over 250 kg lighter.
The move comes after the company was recently (reportedly) planing to bring the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar into production. In addition to that, Porsche announced that it is working on three electric Boxsters, with the vehicles scheduled to enter a testing program in Germany next year.
Porsche is also betting on the hybrid cars when it comes to racing, as the company is currently using the 911 GT3 R Hybrid for many of the races it takes part in.
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