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Hybrid Panamera confirmed
02 December 2009
A hybrid Porsche Panamera will be built, the company confirmed at the LA motor show.
Technical details were not disclosed, but sources say the car will require a high price tag.
Porsche can use the same sophisticated transmission in the Panamera as it does in the Cayenne hybrid (which combines an automatic ’box and electric motors), but the installation will be quite different.
The Panamera hybrid is unlikely to have four-wheel drive. This is partly for reasons of economy, but also because it has a very different four-wheel drive system from the big Porsche Cayenne, which will go on sale with a hybrid system in 2011.
The 4WD Panamera not only uses a Haldex clutch mounted on the rear of the transmission housing, but also directs power forward to a driveshaft system that runs through the engine’s sump.
Although a V8 hybrid might be more appealing to the US, a more efficient V6 hybrid would suit Europe better.
The Porsche Panamera hybrid is expected to go on sale in 2011.
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