More power, more torque and lower emissions from reworked diesel V6
This is the facelifted Porsche Panamera diesel, which will be seen for the first time at the Frankfurt motor show later this month.
The most significant news is the adoption of a more powerful version of the Audi-sourced 3.0-litre V6 common rail diesel engine. It develops an added 49bhp, lifting the Panamera diesel’s reserves to 296bhp at 4000rpm. Torque is also up, swelling by 74lb from an earlier 405lb ft to 479lb ft on relatively narrow band of revs between 1750 and 2500rpm.
The lift in power and torque is combined with revisions to the rear-wheel drive Panamera diesel’s ZF sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox and the addition of Porsche’s torque vectoring system, which acts as an electronic differential lock for added traction, as standard equipment.
Porsche's changes to the driveline help bring about a 0.8sec reduction in the 0-62mph time, at 6.0sec, while top speed extends by 9mph to 161mph.
The plush four-door saloon also receives the same subtle exterior and interior styling changes as other variants of the four-year-old Panamera and is due to go on sale in the UK this autumn. Towing capacity is up by 100kg at 2600kg.
Despite the added performance and towing potential, Porsche claims a 0.6mph improvement in combined cycle economy at 44.1mpg along with a 3g/km improvement in CO2 emissions at 169g/km.
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