Porsche working on diesel Panamera

Porsche is planning a diesel engined Panamera that will use existing VAG engines, according to sources within the company.

The firm will use a similar strategy to that applied to the diesel Cayenne, which is fitted with a 3.0 litre V6 diesel also used by Audi and Volkswagen.

When asked about the possibility of a Panamera diesel, a senior Porsche executive said, “There are V6 and V8 diesels within the VW Group that could be used as a basis.” That indicates to the same 240bhp 3.0 litre V6 from the Cayenne or even the 322bhp 4.2 litre V8 diesel from the Audi A8.

Porsche would almost certainly tune any VW diesel for its own use, reworking the power delivery for punchier acceleration rather than long-distance cruising ability. Porsche is also working on a flagship high-performance version of the Panamera, which will sit above the Turbo variant. Again it will mimic the equivalent Cayenne, the GTS, by doing away with the Panamera Turbo’s standard air suspension and replacing it with steel springs. The car could be badged as a Turbo S or even a GTS.

The Panamera’s influence on the rest of the Porsche range will be seen much more in other future models, meanwhile. The car’s interior, with its high centre console and switchgear arranged down either side of the gearshift, will influence the cabins of the next generation of Porsches.