Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo concept (2012)

This is the new Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo concept car, unveiled on the eve of the 2012 Paris motor show. We hear that we won’t see a Sport Turismo version of the current Panamera, but this concept instead previews the facelift treatment that will be applied to Porsche’s four-door saloon as part of a mid-life refresh in 2013. And beyond that the Sport Turismo showcases a second bodystyle than will join the range when the Mk2 Panamera appears in late 2015.

At 4950mm long the Panamera Sport Turismo is actually 20mm shorter than the standard Panamera, but it’s wider (1990mm versus 1931mm) and lower (1401mm versus 1418). It’s sleeker too, with short overhangs, and tauter styling especially around the sleek nose. Porsche says 'the body concept of the Panamera Sport Turismo is an outlook on a possible Porsche sports car of tomorrow'.

The four-point LED headlamps are inspired by the quad LED daytime running lamps on the current Panamera Turbo and GTS, there are LED rear lights too, a large hatchback boot, and the wing mirrors are replaced by two cameras which relay images to twin screens ahead of the driver. The carbonfibre rear spoiler moves and can increase downforce or reduce drag, depending on its position.

Power comes from the same supercharged 328bhp 3.0-litre V6 engine found in the Cayenne S Hybrid and Panamera S Hybrid, but rather than the 34kW hybrid module used in that pair, this concept boast a more powerful 70kW unit. That electrical equivalent of 94bhp means a combined output of 410bhp. With both the combustion and electric motors sending their power to the rear wheels, the Sport Turismo will reach 0-62mph in less than six seconds.

The lithium-ion battery pack has a 9.4 kWh capacity (Porsche’s current Panamera and Cayenne hybrids use nickel-hydride batteries), and after a two and half hour charge thanks to the ‘plug-in’ facility, the Panamera Sport Turismo has a pure electric range of over 19 miles. Use all this clever EV trickery for the EU fuel consumption test and the official combined figures are over 80.7mpg and less than 82g/km. The top speed, using only electric power, is over 80mph.

The wheels have central single-bolt hub locks like a GT3 or 918 Spyder, and like the latter this Sport Turismo has bright 'acid green' brake calipers to signal its hybrid capability. The batteries are carried in a milled aluminium housing under the boot floor, but the electrochromatic glass cover can switch from opaque at the touch of a button and reveal the pack (illuminated by 'acid green' light, of course).

A very futuristic but also realistic interior. The twin digital screen technology will appear first on the 918 Spyder, but soon filter through to the rest of Porsche’s cars. The dashboard screen contains information for the driver like the speed and engine revs, while the screen above the transmission tunnel houses the other function, like sat-nav and air-con controls.

There’s also controls for the powertrain: the Panamera Sport Turismo defaults to prioritise electric driving, but the driver can deactivate this, while another function ensures the car intensely charges the battery if the driver knows they will soon enter an urban area and need a long EV range.

By Ben Pulman