It was the worst kept secret in Porsche ’s Pananamera development saga, but today it’s official. Porsche will offer hybrid power as an option on its forthcoming four-door grand tourer, the company announced. The automaker released a diagram of the powertrain, which also provides us with an undisguised glimpse at the car.
It should come as no surprise that the Panamera’s hybrid system will come from Cayenne Hybrid, which was announced last year and is expected to debut as a 2010 model.
Depending on driving conditions, the hybrid module is able to disengage either the combustion engine or the electric motor, or to combine both drive systems as one joint power unit.
Porsche says the regular Pananamera will debut in 2009, with the hybrid edition to follow at some point after that — “depending on market requirements.”
The new diagram of the powertrain released by Porsche shows the approximate layout of the major components in the system. It also gives us a glimpse at some of the design elements of the car, which so far has only been photographed with disguise during testing.
