The facelifted Porsche Panamera will take design cues and tech from its all-electric stablemate when it arrives next year.
The Porsche Taycan proved an instant sales hit when it reached showrooms in 2019, and it’s since displaced the ageing combustion-engined Panamera in terms of popularity. The two models fulfil a similar brief in both sedan and Sport Turismo wagon forms, with Porsche recognising that not all of its customers are ready to adopt EVs just yet; hence why a new, heavily updated Panamera is under development.
As these spy shots indicate, the Panamera is set to receive a comprehensive round of upgrades similar to those of the new Cayenne, building on its existing underpinnings with a modernised design and Taycan-inspired tech. This prototype appears to share the same door skins and roof as the current Panamera, but there’s evidence of significant bodywork changes elsewhere.
At the front, there’s a new set of headlights that are expected to use Porsche’s new HD Matrix LED technology, with a more chiselled front bumper and taller intake vents – these house thinner LED light strips below the headlights. The aesthetic changes are equally extensive at the rear, where new rear quarter panels integrate with reprofiled side glass and a Taycan-inspired LED light bar. The Panamera’s deployable multi-element rear spoiler remains, but the rear bumper has received a subtle redesign with strakes pressed into its outer edges.
The new Panamera is likely to follow the same template as the facelifted Cayenne SUV with regards to its mechanical upgrades. This means that the base-level 2.9-litre V6 is likely to receive a modest power hike from its current output, while E-Hybrid models built around this engine could receive a revised battery and motor setup for improved performance and pure-electric range, as in the Cayenne.
Performance and efficiency improvements are likely to span across the pure-petrol 4-litre V8 GTS, Turbo S and the 515kW Turbo S E-Hybrid too, in tandem with a selection of chassis hardware and calibration improvements.
Inside, expect the new Panamera to follow the Taycan’s lead with a curved digital dial pack and an optional passenger infotainment display set into the dashboard. The existing 12.3-inch central touchscreen will probably be carried over, albeit with updated software and quicker response times. To declutter the centre console, Porsche may also swap out the current car’s gear selector with a smaller dash-mounted switch, as found in the Taycan and latest Cayenne.