Looking to the future: World’s first plug-in hybrid drive in the luxury class

Friday, 29 November 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Launch of the new Panamera S E-Hybrid in Sri Lanka

Eurocars Ltd., the official Porsche importer in Sri Lanka, launched the new Porsche Panamera SE-Hybrid on 28 November 2013 at Cinnamon Grand Colombo. Porsche Panamera SE-Hybrid is the world’s first plug-in hybrid in the luxury class and is equipped with 416 hp of system power.

The Panamera SE-Hybrid underscores its exceptional positioning with an even more expressive design language in style of the new sports car generations that are marked by tighter lines, more pronounced contours and newly shaped body elements. Eurocars Ltd. Chairman Arthur Senanayake stated: “Porsche has always pushed the boundaries with technology and this can be seen here with its first plug-in hybrid the Panamera SE-Hybrid. “This new model variant offers an entirely new electric mobility driving experience that provides the benefits of reduced fuel consumption and emissions without compromising on the typical performance expected, making it more efficient and more Porsche than ever.” The Panamera S E-Hybrid is a systematically advanced development of the parallel full hybrids with a more powerful electric motor, a higher-performance battery that supplies more energy and the ability to charge it externally from the electrical grid. The electric drive produces 95 hp (70 kW), which is more than double the power of the previous model’s electric motor at 47 hp (34 kW). It draws its energy from a newly developed lithium-ion battery, which at 9.4 kWh has over five times the 1.7 kWh energy capacity of the previous battery in nickel metal hydride technology. Depending on the type of external electrical supply, the battery may be fully charged within as little as a few hours and the battery is recharged by electrical system recuperation while driving. The Panamera S E-Hybrid far exceeds the driving performance of the previous model. In addition, the previous model’s NEDC fuel consumption of 7.1 l/100 km was reduced by 56% to 3.1 l/100 km. At the same time, its all-electric driving performance was substantially improved with regard to electric acceleration, the electric range and electric top speed. An intensive pure electric driving experience is possible without any fuel consumption or local emissions, which is especially advantageous in the urban environment. The electric driving range of the Panamera SE-Hybrid was determined to be 36 kilometres in NEDC-based testing. The driving range may vary in real operation, since air conditioning and heating are deactivated in NEDC test conditions. A realistic all-electric driving range in everyday operation would lie somewhere between 18 and 36 km – and under particularly favourable conditions it could even exceed this range. The Panamera with the new hybrid drive can reach speeds of up to 135 km/h in all-electric operation. The acceleration time from a standstill to 100 km/h was shortened by half a second to 5.5 seconds. The electric boost function helps here, in which the performance of the electric motor boosts that of the combustion engine. Boosting can also be activated by kick-down – such as in overtaking situations. The car’s top speed is 270 km/h. The parallel full hybrid concept developed by Porsche also offers “coasting” at higher speeds, which refers to free coasting with the internal combustion engine shut off and energy recovery by generating electricity. The comfortable eight-speed automatic Tiptronic S operates in the Panamera SE-Hybrid andthis transmission creates optimal conditions for further development of other efficiency functions. Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe