The world premiere of the new Porsche Panamera will be held at the Icons of Porsche festival in Dubai on November 24 at a special event.

The Panamera is now undergoing final test drives in Barcelona. The main focus of these tests is the powertrain, which includes a new Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK), and the newly developed chassis with active damper control.

The sports saloon has already completed the majority of the test procedures, during which the four-door sports car demonstrated its qualities on four continents. For example, tests in the US checked the drivetrain performance at high altitudes and low oxygen levels, or verified the performance of the engine-cooling system and the air conditioning in extreme heat. In Scandinavia, the Panamera was driven at very low temperatures; in South Africa, it mastered difficult road conditions; and in Asia, the high air humidity and hours of stop-and-go traffic in megacities posed particular challenges for the overall package.

“We test every new car intensively in order to meet our demands, and of course those of our customers all over the world,” said development manager Marcel Hönemann.

“The standard we set is always the development targets defined in the specifications. The new Panamera must excel here and now, in particular in terms of performance, comfort and acoustics.”

New Panamera has four E-Hybrid variants

At Porsche, the right drivetrain is imperative for optimum performance. The new model of the Panamera has a completely upgraded engine range with a state-of-the-art focus on sustainable drivetrains and efficiency.

“After already offering three E-Hybrids for the second Panamera generation, we will be adding a fourth plug-in hybrid in the new Panamera,” said Dr Thomas Friemuth, head of the Panamera product line.

“This is our response to the enormous demand from our customers. In some countries, the proportion of E-Hybrids in the Panamera is almost 100 per cent. The new derivative is a high-performance model that fits perfectly into the versatile line-up.

“We are increasing the electrical performance of the Panamera in all E-Hybrid models with regard to driving dynamics and the important disciplines of electric range and charging speed. During our tests, we’re driving up to 70 per cent further purely on electric power than we did in its predecessor.”

The basis of all E-Hybrid models of the new Panamera is a new, more powerful electric motor that is now completely integrated in the transmission housing of the new dual clutch transmission. It offers higher drivetrain and recuperation performance values than its predecessor at a lower weight. Its energy is provided by a high voltage battery with a significantly higher capacity of 25.9 kWh. An on-board charger with a power of 11 kW shortens the charging time despite the increased energy content.

Fundamental revisions of the combustion engines facilitate additional efficiency and performance. All the drivetrains in the new Panamera are prepared for future emission standards.

“I’m delighted with the progress we have made with electrification. The integration and combination of two drive systems in the Panamera works absolutely seamlessly and harmoniously. With the new drivetrains, the car radiates tremendous ease and reliability when accelerating,” said Arno Bögl, project manager for the drivetrain in the Panamera product line, regarding the test drives.

An innovative air suspension

Along with its comprehensively revised engine range, the new Panamera incorporates other new developments. For the first time the Panamera has an optional high-end chassis with active damper control and a wide range of additional functions.

“With the active chassis we are setting new standards. We could feel this on every meter of our test drives – very comfortable on the cobblestones in Barcelona harbour, and highly dynamic and agile on the winding country roads outside the city. An incomparably wide range,” said Friemuth.

The new Panamera is equipped with a semi-active chassis with new two-valve shock absorbers as standard, which can regulate the compression and rebound stages independently of each other. This significantly expands the range between comfortable and high-performance chassis tuning in the new standard chassis as well.

During the test drives, the last finishing touches will be made to the new Panamera before its world premiere.

The sports car be on display for Icons of Porsche festival attendees on November 25 and 26.