Porsche rolls out 680hp wagon

Panamera Sport Turismo equivalent of the Turbo S E-Hybrid is good for 192mph

No-one needs convincing about the earthy, good-time appeal of fast wagons. Being able to accelerate 20 bags of ballast up to 100mph in less than 10 seconds is about as frivolous as equipping your box bedroom with a set of B&W Nautilus speakers; no it isn't strictly necessary - but that won't stop it sounding remarkable.

Which brings us to the Sport Turismo, Porsche's beguiling idea of an estate car for the have-lots. Before today it was already possible to have the model in Turbo format, meaning that you could have it with the granular splendor of a 550hp V8 and all-wheel drive - a combination good for 3.8 seconds to 62mph and a top speed of 188mph.

But Stuttgart apparently feels it can do better. Or at least it can do quicker. For the trifling matter of an additional £30k or so, it'll now remove some of the luggage space you previously paid for and replace it with 14kWh lithium-ion batteries that power a 136hp electric motor - giving you a potential system output of 680hp, and a 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds.

Yes, that's as fast as a 911 GT3. And significantly quicker than the existing E-Hybrid model, which obviously doesn't benefit from the V8's largesse. It'll also manage (Porsche claims) 31 miles under battery power alone, and can summon up a planet-spinning 627lb ft of torque from 1,400rpm.

So, Nautilus-spec then? Well, yes and no. Certainly the car has on-paper bragging rights over the Turbo, but it also inevitably piles on the plug-in hybrid pounds. The saloon version was more than 300kg heavier than the Turbo so expect a similar weight gain in the Sport Turismo; a penalty almost certain to scupper the car's torque-to-weight ratio when compared to the conventionally driven equivalent.

Then there's the placement of those batteries, stuck behind the rear axle line and reportedly the reason why the saloon's handling on the limit was somewhat compromised at launch. Don't expect the Sport Turismo's heftier rump to improve that scenario or live up to the entirely misleading NEDC combined claim of 97.4mpg either.

Still, 680hp is 680hp. And for as long as the charge lasts, that's more than a Lamborghini Huracan. More even than a Ferrari 488. And enough to briefly have your cargo/golf clubs/dog up the road quicker than just about anything shy of a Saturn V rocket. If that thought appeals, and we can't persuade you to buy the lighter V8-only version, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo is on sale now.

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