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The Sport Turismo is in comparison to the classic Panamera undoubtedly the much more pleasing variant. In the GTS version you get an eight-cylinder drive for significantly less money than in the top version "Turbo". The performance-wise close distance to the strongest six-cylinder surprised only at first glance.
The very different Porsche
Hand on heart: Who thinks of Porsche, immediately has the 911er in mind, but at least a Cayman or Boxster - so therefore sports car. The Zuffenhausen sell the vast majority of their vehicles already as SUV (Macan, Cayenne) or in the luxury sedan class. And here offer the Swabians in addition to the S-class competitor Panamera with the Sport Turismo for two years, a kind of station wagon variant, which could well be called Shooting Brake.
Basically, in this version exactly the same engines are used as in the normal Panamera, so there are two six-cylinder, two plug-in hybrids for the green conscience and two eight-cylinder, of which Porsche put us the GTS in front of the door. This drive variant was submitted later than last year and is below the top version "Turbo" settled with their 550 PS. In the GTS makes the eight-cylinder "only" 460 PS and that may surprise at first glance, but has the six-cylinder Panamera 4S only 20 PS less.
Eight cylinders are something awesome
Porsche would not be Porsche, if it was that easy. In fact, the eight-cylinder feels different than the six. On the positive side, 70 Newton meters have more torque, and their 620 are altogether. On the other hand, the additional weight of around 65 kilo affects the performance, just 3 km / h more creates the GTS in the top (289 km / h) and is in the standard sprint only a tenth of a second faster (4,1 s). This is marginal and actually felt neither in everyday life nor on a closed track. Rather, the extra weight of the large engine on the front could interfere with, even if there is no traction or steering problems thanks to standard four-wheel drive. The incomparable babbling of an eight-cylinder is of course a plus point.
At Porsche, GTS always stands for a particularly sporty design, as far as one can even say for this brand. Among other things, the Sport Turismo is characterized by a thicker stabilizer on the rear axle, which should allow a more neutral and agile driving. Also, the variable power distribution of the four-wheel drive was trimmed in the direction of agility compared to the "4S", the rear wheels are allocated more torque and thus the vehicle handy. All this should ensure a (even) sportier driving behavior. Honestly, we have not really been able to verify that in the few test days. Rather already the Porsche Precision superior steering precision and the fantastic brakes. Equally impeccable works the well-known eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Is this a station wagon now?
No, who buys a Panamera Sport Turismo, of course, first of all on the less polarizing, as I said almost combo-like design. The car looks so much more harmonious, especially in the rear area, as the still rather pretentious-looking classic Panamera. However, one forgets that the Sport Turismo with 5,05 meter is just as long, and in the GTS variant with 2,1 tons just as difficult. Relative to this, the vehicle can actually move very agile, not least in bends, but in absolute terms, neither almost 3 meter wheelbase nor the weight can completely hide.
Money does not matter, right?
Who picks up the GTS variant makes this probably not least because of the compared to the almost equally strong six-cylinder significantly better features. There are special 20-inch wheels, an extendable rear spoiler, leather / alcantara seats, an Alcantara headliner, sports chrono package, LED dynamic light and the colored head-up display as standard. And of course, under the GTS in addition to the eight-cylinder and the four-wheel drive also a sports exhaust system and a three-chamber air spring suspension.
The most common questions: What does the fun cost and is the GTS worth the money? The former is easy to answer - the gross list price is 143.330 euros. Second answer: There is actually a lot in the basic price, so that you don't necessarily have to spend many tens of thousands of euros on extras. But what many buyers do to the delight of the Swabians, of course, and our test car already reached around 170.000 euros. Absolutely, that is undoubtedly a lot of money, but those who have a lot of it may even find the price appropriate. And comfort themselves that the purchase of the "Turbo" would have cost another 20.000 euros more.
Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo GTS - Specifications:
Five-door, four-seater sport sedan, length: 5,05 meters, width: 1,94 meters (with exterior mirrors: 2,17 meters), height: 1,42 meters, wheelbase: 2,95 meters, trunk volume: 520 to 1.390 liters
4,0-liter V8 petrol engine, 338 kW / 460 hp, maximum torque: 620 Nm at 1.800 - 4.500 rpm, all-wheel drive, 8-speed dual clutch transmission, 0-100 km / h: 4,1 s, Vmax : 289 km / h, average consumption: 10,3 liters, CO2 emissions: 235 g / km, emissions standard: Euro 6d-temp, efficiency class: E, test consumption: 14,1 liters
Price: from € 143.330