Cars & Concepts

Porsche Panamera poised to go all-electric

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The current Panamera GTS.
September 06, 2022 06:20 PM

The Porsche Panamera could switch to electric power as the sports-car maker aims for 80 percent of its global vehicle sales to be fully electric by 2030.

Over the next several years, all Porsche nameplates — except for the flagship 911 — are expected to be battery-powered.

Porsche is also expanding its lineup with a flagship electric three-row crossover.

"We are pushing ahead with our electric offensive: By the middle of the decade, we want to offer our 718 midengine sports car exclusively in an all-electric form," Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said this summer.

New platform

The Panamera could go electric in the second half of the decade, timed with the arrival of the next-generation Taycan electric vehicle.

According to an Autocar report, the new EVs will feature a sporty version of Volkswagen Group's Scalable Systems Platform.

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The report said the SSP Sport platform features a low cabin floor and rear footwells similar to the Taycan.

A Porsche Cars North America spokesman declined to comment.

Autocar's sources say the Panamera EV will have a wheelbase of about 10.1 feet (3078 mm) and an overall length of about 17 feet (5182 mm), similar to the existing long-wheelbase Panamera sold in China, maintaining the size differentiation from the electric Taycan.

The Panamera EV will be offered with a single- or dual-motor drivetrain. It will also receive a next-gen 800-volt battery with a more energy-efficient cell technology and a higher-silicon-content anode than that used by Porsche today, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

The all-electric Panamera could be styled similarly to the internal combustion and plug-in hybrid versions.

"There will be some unique design elements within the front and rear ends," Autocar said, citing a "highly placed" Porsche source. "However, the core Panamera design will be the same for both."

Porsche could sell the zero-emission Panamera alongside the current-gen model, which will receive a freshening next year. The current Panamera's life cycle could be extended, allowing Porsche to maintain a choice of powertrains while EV adoption grows.

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