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2015 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

When the Porsche Panamera joined the hybrid poker game with the S Hybrid, it started with a seat at the penny-ante table: engineers inserted a 47-horsepower electric motor between the gas engine and eight-speed automatic, powered by a 1.7-kWh nickel-metal hydride battery. It was tiny stakes, the kind of non-risk taken when you're trying to figure out both how to play the game and how you want to play the game. After two years of experimenting, the 2015 Panamera S E-Hybrid makes a bigger bet – the kind that requires paper bills and the maxim, "If you can't fold it, hold it." Porsche's plug-in hybrid gets every adjective we expect of a successor from Stuttgart: more complex, more efficient, more powerful and faster. Driving Notes The electric motor leaps from 47 hp to 95 hp thanks to more windings on the stator coils and new power electronics. The battery goes from a 1.7-kWh nickel-metal hydride unit to 9.4-kWh lithium-ion setup; it's the same physical size as before, still mounted under the cargo deck. Internal combustion still comes from the Audi-sourced, 333-hp, supercharged V6, but total system power goes from 380 hp and 428 pound-feet of torque in the S Hybrid to 416 hp and 435 lb-ft in the S E-Hybrid. The previous system could run a mile on electricity, this one is estimated to last more than 20 miles on e-power on the European cycle. The 0-60 dash takes 5.2 seconds, down from 5.7 seconds; top speed in electric-only mode is 84 mph – up from 50 mph. It takes 2.5 hours at a 240-volt outlet to fully recharge the battery; the Porsche Universal Charger comes equipped with a cable for that and a standard 120-volt socket. Only Panamera obsessives will notice the sheetmetal changes for 2015, but there are sharper lines on the front and rear fascias, faint revisions made to the light clusters, wider glass – over the same-sized opening – on the rear tailgate, and a wider rear spoiler. Outsiders will know the S E-Hybrid because of Acid Green highlights on the fender and tailgate logos, as well as the Acid Green brake calipers. Inside, the central tach remains, but the analog speedometer was evicted to make space for the battery power meter, and Acid Green needles dance across all the gauges. The navigation screen shows your electric driving range and the Porsche Car Connect service provides the expected, smartphone-controlled e-mobility features.

2017 Porsche Panamera revealed: It's finally pretty

Things are looking up for the Porsche Panamera. Dynamically, it's always been good – fast, comfortable, and much more spacious than something like a 911 – but the general consensus is that the first-gen Panamera's styling was, shall we say, less successful. All that changes for the second-generation car. Despite being longer, wider, and taller than before, it's much more attractive, with a lower roofline that sweeps back toward the rear haunches with a pleasing arc. There's a clear styling link to Porsche's mainstay, the 911. The new Panamera's body is made mostly from aluminum, minus some high-strength steel and the optional large, panoramic roof overhead. LED lighting elements front and rear look suitably up-to-date, especially the interconnected design of the taillights. Wheels range from 19 inches to 21, with 20s standard on the Turbo. Porsche isn't just recalling its current sports car with the new Panamera. The central tachometer is designed to evoke the one in the 1955 356 A, more colloquially known as the Speedster. Beside that one analog throwback, however, the latest Panamera is fully modern and technologically advanced. Two seven-inch screens flank the tach, and the Porsche Advanced Cockpit includes a 12.3-inch tablet-like touchscreen in front of the driver. Apple CarPlay is available, but there's no mention of Android Auto. A new thermal imaging camera makes it easier to see in the dark. A completely new range of engines powers the second-gen Panamera, starting with a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 that puts out 440 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. In the Panamera 4S, that's enough to launch the saloon to 60 in 4.4 seconds (4.2 with the optional Sport Chrono Package) and to hit a top speed of 180 miles per hour. The Panamera Turbo boasts a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 with 550 hp and 567 lb-ft. The 0–60 run takes just 3.6 seconds (3.4 with Sport Chrono) and the top speed is 190 mph. Both the 4S and the Turbo come with standard all-wheel drive and an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission. Much of the chassis tech from the last Panamera is carried over, including Porsche Active Suspension Management, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus, and active roll stabilization. The available active air suspension has been updated with a three-chamber design. The 2017 model adds rear-wheel steering as an option, borrowed from the 911 line.

There's a Porsche Cayman under here somewhere

What we have here is the work of Dubai tuner Royal Customs that is controversial even beyond its styling. The Middle East aftermarket house says it spent fourteen months developing a bodykit for the Porsche Cayman, and the results seem to be aimed at those who wish their coupe were a 918 Spyder - the nose, strake-filled and widened rear fender, carbon fiber wing and massive diffuser all cribbing some from Stuttgart's new hybrid supercar.
Even without a buyer, the Alpha One Concept is already controversial. When WorldCarFans posted on the Royal Customs car recently, German tuner Alpha-N Performance wrote in alleging that the Dubai package copies their design from two years ago, which was also called the Alpha One, a design with which it's clear the Dubai Alpha One shares numerous cues. We asked Royal Customs about its relationship to the Alpha One car, we were told, "Yes, there is a lot we can say about the remarkable similarities all of which will be explained by our press release by Mr. Emil from Autogespot. Please wait for the official release and you will have the full exciting story. It's an 'actual success story' and not a 'replication' story."
The response is referring to an "extensive report" on the car coming out of Autogespot. Royal Customs doesn't have the Alpha One Concept on its site yet, so we're still missing quite a few details on it, such as whether the Porsche engine has been given a similarly 918-ish workover. We do know that the company says each car takes 30 days to build and it will only build three of them, which is a number that should satisfy any haters and, even more so, its buyers. You can decide which side of the fence you're on by having a close look at it in the gallery above.