Geneva show: Porsche outs Panamera Sport Turismo

PORSCHE has revealed the Sport Turismo wagon version of its second-gen Panamera ahead of the Geneva motor show, more than four years after the concept previewing the new body style was uncovered at the 2012 Paris show.

When it arrives in Australian showrooms in November this year, it will be offered in five variants – the entry-level 4 kicking off the range at $232,800 plus on-road costs, 4 E-Hybrid ($255,800), 4S ($318,100), 4S Diesel ($325,900) and topping out with the $391,000 Turbo.

The line-up almost mimics the regular Panamera four-door coupe-style sedan, but the Sport Turismo will not be offered in base-level Panamera guise.

Porsche Cars Australia public relations director Paul Ellis told GoAuto that he did not expect the Sport Turismo to cannibalise sales of the sedan body style, but would instead attract new buyers to the brand.

“There will be incremental additional volume for this car,” he said. “We don’t suspect there will be substitute volume from the Panamera sedan.

“It is probably likely to attract the interest of buyers of large SUVs, because it will have that utilitarian aspect about it, and with really striking design and typical Porsche performance.

“So it will be less of an executive car, and more of a lifestyle car.”

The Sport Turismo has a redesigned body from the B-pillar onwards, that includes a black, extendible roof spoiler and a sloping tailgate with thicker D-pillars than its coupe-style sibling.

The rear seats will be offered with either a two or two-plus-one seating arrangement, and can fold almost flat in 40:20:40 configuration for a maximum storage capacity of 1390 litres with the seats lowered – 50L more than the sedan.

With the seats up storage is 520L representing a 20L increase, however 4 E-Hybrid variants lose 95L of space over the rest of the range because of the battery pack.

Buyers can option a luggage compartment management system that features two rails integrated into the loading floor, four lashing points and a luggage compartment partition net.

The extendible roof spoiler can be set in three different driving stages, and can generate up to 50kg of downforce onto the rear axle.

The spoiler stays retracted up to 170km/h or 90km/h in Sport and Sport Plus modes, but when driver hit higher speeds, it extends from its negative seven degree angle to plus one degree, which Porsche says increases driving stability.

It can also extend to plus 26 degrees when the panoramic sunroof is open at speeds of 90km/h or more, which helps reduce wind noise.

The 5049mm length and 1937mm width of the Sport Turismo are identical to the sedan, however the roof height has been raised by 5mm to 1428mm.

Engine outputs mirror the saloon range, from the 342kW/450Nm 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 in the Panamera 4 up to the all-new 404kW/770Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 in the Turbo.

However fuel consumption has risen approximately 0.1 litresper 100km across the range, with the exception of the 4 E-Hybrid which remains steady at 2.5L/100km.

It is unclear if the recently-revealed range-topping Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which is also set to be revealed at Geneva, will be offered in Sport Turismo guise in the future.

The Panamera Sport Turismo will make its public debut at the Geneva show on March 7.

2017 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo pricing*

Panamera 4 Sport Turismo (a)	$232,800
Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo (a)	$255,800
Panamera 4S Sport Turismo (a)	$318,100
Panamera 4S Diesel Sport Turismo (a)	$325,900
Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo (a)	$391,100

*Excludes on-road costs