The Porsche Panamera is a divisive car here on PH in any guise, the more so if it's got a hybrid or - ugh - diesel engine under its snout. Grudging admiration of the former was offered in our test on the
newly facelifted car
earlier in the year, before scurrying to the welcoming bosom of a Turbo S. But as Frankfurt looms Porsche has announced upgrades to the diesel too.
In all honesty this car was in fact announced yesterday but whooshed past without registering a flicker on the PH newsometer. Which it should have done really, given what a certain C Harris said about the pre-facelift example he ran. "Whichever way I looked at it, the Panamera Diesel, when judged on merit as a driving machine and somewhere to spend endless hours, was a great car. For the way I used it, I wouldn't have swapped it for any other petrol variant."
Like a Porsche, just diesel powered
he said that
So how about all of that with a 20 per cent power gain to 300hp, eight tenths off the 0-62 (now six dead) and the option to spec an active locking diff and Porsche Torque Vectoring denied previously to diesel customers.
And necessary to help contain the additional 74lb ft of torque - now peaking at 479lb ft - driving through shortened lower gear ratios for punchier acceleration, a longer top gear delivering relaxed cruising. Which'll help the 44.1mpg average and 169g/km, improved from the 250hp car's 172g/km and 43.5mpg on standard tyres.
There's more to this update than a remap and revised gear ratios too - the engine has been thoroughly overhauled with water-cooled turbos, a new crank and pistons and increase in boost pressure from 2.5 to 3.0bar.
Impressive stuff, the new car going on sale in January with the German price of 85,300 euros (including VAT), an increase of around 4,000 euros over the outgoing car. It's hardly a cheap used purchase either, entry level to this particular party rarely found below £50K. If you don't like the idea of a diesel Porsche it'd seem there are plenty that do...