What's the news?
Here comes the Porsche Panamera GTS saloon, and the Panamera Sport Turismo GTS estate (well, kinda-estate). They've been given the GTS (hey, there's a surprise) treatment by Porsche so that the Panamera range mirrors that of the Cayman, Boxster, and 911.
What's a GTS I hear you ask? Well, I hear myself answer, it's a styling pack that includes black-finish trim at the front and rear, whopping 20-inch wheels, the Sport Design body kit as standard, and an upgraded interior. Upgraded with lashing and lashings of Alcantara fake suede, as well as a smattering of anodised aluminium, plus a three-spoke steering wheel that's heated, has paddle shifters, and also has an Alcantara rim.
You can further add to the cabin with GTS logos, contrast stitching, and the rev-counter in either Carmine Red or Crayon (Porsche-speak for grey). Oh, and there's a new, more high-tech heads-up display too, which will also now be available on the rest of the Panamera range.
Mechanically, the GTS twins will use the same 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine as the Panamera Turbo, but don't expect quite the same sledgehammer acceleration. With a still-considerable 460hp, the new Panamera GTS is 20hp ahead of the old model, and has an extra 100Nm of torque, at 620Nm.
Thanks to the standard Sport Chrono pack (which includes launch control), the four-wheel drive, and the eight-speed PDK gearbox, that's all enough to fire the GTS from nothing to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds. Top speeds are 291km/h, with the Sport Turismo a fraction behind on 288km/h.
Now, fuel consumption. Basically, unless you're already staggeringly wealthy it's a horror story. The four-door Panamera GTS saloon averages 27.4 mpg (10.3 litres/100 km), the Sport Turimso 'estate' 26.6 mpg (10.6 litres/100 km). CO2 emissions are an equal shit-show; 235g/km for the saloon, 242g/km for the estate. If you have to ask, you can't afford and all that.
Handling should be fun. The three-chamber air suspension system squats 10mm lower than that of a standard Panamera, while the PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) system has been retuned to make these big, hefty cars feel a touch more agile.
No Irish prices as yet, but both cars are more than STG£105,000 in the UK, so don't expect much change from €200,000 to get one here.