Sedan - page 24

Porsche’s headlights are some of the most recognizable in the automotive industry. When it comes to the 911, the German sports car manufacturer has retained the classic forms since the 1964 original. This includes the round headlamps, which were present on almost all 911 generations, except the Porsche 996, featuring the controversial, "fried-egg" headlights. Like other carmakers, Porsche went from halogen to xenon headlights and, eventually, an LED setup on all its models. It started with the 993 generation, which introduced "Litronic” technology - Porsche’s first dabble in H.I.D. tech, only to be permanently replaced by LED technology over 20 years later. As Porsche says, "Light is identity, by day as well as by night", and the German brand’s current, four-line, LED headlight pattern is recognizable almost anywhere. The four-point LED principle, as Porsche likes to call it first became a feature on range-topping models, starting with the 2009 Porsche Panamera Turbo. Since then, the four-point headlight design has evolved and was extended to other Porsche models like the Cayenne, Taycan, 918 Spyder, and even the 911.

Let’s talk about Porsche and a dream that just got put on hold. Remember back in 2022, when they were all gung-ho about being 80% electric brand by 2030? Yeah, about that... seems that dream is hitting a major roadblock. Look, I get it. Porsche makes some of the most iconic sports cars on the planet, but the reality is, they too, just like so many automakers, jumped on the E.V. bandwagon. The problem is, that people today still aren’t as gung-ho about E.Vs as the industry thought. The proof is in the pudding, with hybrids making a comeback. For a brand that’s built its laurels on boxer-engines, where does this leave the 911?

Porsche has revealed two more trims of the third-generation Panamera, bringing the total number of trims to seven, made up of three gas-powered models and four hybrid models. The Turbo S E-Hybrid is the most powerful production Panamera ever and is now the flagship trim. The GTS is the most powerful gasoline version in the line-up and sits below the Turbo E-Hybrid trim. The plug-in hybrid V8 powertrain in the Turbo S E-Hybrid has a combined output of 771 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque. The bigger 21.8 kWh battery charges faster and retains 45 percent more charge. The all-electric range hasn’t been announced but estimates suggest around 30 miles from E.V. only mode.

Earlier this week, Porsche issued a press release about an upcoming top-end Panamera variant that set a new Nürburgring record. At the time, the German automaker did not reveal the specific trim that climbed to the top spot in the Executive cars class with combustion engines and hybrid powertrains. Porsche simply referred to it as the ’Panamera Top-Model’. But just a few hours back, a new video of the record-setting lap went live on Porsche’s social channels, confirming the record-setting model as the 2025 Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid alongside the announcement of the Panamera GTS. Test driver Lars Kern, a veteran of the Nordschleife set a new record with a time of 7:24.172, beating the outgoing model generation’s time by 5.64 seconds. Back in July 2020, Kern set a time of 7:29.81 minutes in the Panamera Turbo S, but later that year in November, the Mercedes AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+ managed to beat that record with a time of 7:27.800.

The seventh-generation BMW M5 is here, and it’s packing a serious punch with a whopping 717 horsepower, roughly 100 more horses than before. This super-sedan is the most powerful in BMW’s stable, thanks to a new S68 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 and a powerful e-motor inside the eight-speed ZF automatic. But before you plan to start doing donuts in your driveway, there’s a catch: this beast has put on some serious weight due to all the electrical components.

Yes, car obesity is a thing and it seems to be getting worse with each year. With more and more performance cars featuring various degrees of electrification, they become more complex and heavier. The latest offender is the 2024 BMW M5, which tips the scales at an SUV-like 5,390 pounds (2,445 kg). To add insult to injury, the new M5 is slower to 60 mph than the outgoing one, although it picks up the pace after. It seems Porsche is the only carmaker that properly electrified its iconic sports car - the 911 – without compromising its character, but another model of the brand might not be so lucky.

Porsche is a sports car manufacturer first and foremost, but times have changed, and in order to stay in business, many high-end car companies need to adapt. Like other carmakers, Porsche eventually branched out into other segments, including four-door sedans. In fact, the automaker’s has been toying with the idea of a four-door model since the 1950s, but so far, Porsche has only two sedan models on offer, with a possible, third one on the way.

Tesla pioneered the mainstream EV segment and currently offers some of the quickest fully electric vehicles you can buy. However, legacy carmakers like Mercedes and Porsche have caught up, and now EVs are being churned out left and right. Porsche is big on heritage, but that didn’t spare the brand from getting on the EV bandwagon. On the plus side, Porsche’s Taycan is one of the most popular EV performance cars. Since its introduction in 2020, Porsche has sold over 136,000 units of the all-electric Taycan, and counting, making it one of the more popular high-performance EVs. That said, when it comes to the performance-per-dollar ratio, Tesla’s offerings are still unrivaled, but Porsche might be working on a solution.

Restomods are all the rage these days, i.e. modern reimaginations of legendary classic cars. However, HWA Chief Engineer Gordian von Schöning insists that their Evo II is "not a resto-mod". HWA was founded by Hans-Werner Aufrecht in 1998, who was also one of the founders of AMG, now under the ownership of Mercedes-Benz. HWA, who have been in the game for a long time now (since 1998) reimagined the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II from the ground up. The HWA Evo II features a lengthened wheelbase for increased stability and a wider track for superior grip. Crafted from lightweight carbon fiber, its custom bodywork conceals an equally impressive powertrain.

The Porsche Mission E unveiled in 2015 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, was a futuristic concept car that was a showcase of an electric future for the German automaker. Four years later in 2019, that future arrived in production form with the Porsche Taycan EV. While it retained the essence of the Mission E concept in profile, it incorporated more practical considerations for the real world which we’ll touch upon in a bit. However, if you are an ardent fan of the concept and some of its distinctive design elements and wish to recreate the Mission E aesthetic on the Taycan, it certainly is possible. We’ve spent several hours on Porsche’s configurator going between several exterior and interior options and have listed out the ones that you need to tick, to get that much desired Mission E look..

The newly formed Bugatti-Rimac has already proved that it doesn’t lack the boldness to make some radical changes to the revered and historic French marque. The all-new Bugatti Tourbillon features a newly designed, naturally-aspirated V-16 engine that revs to 9,500 RPM and works with three electric motors to produce 1,800 metric horsepower. In July 2021, the Croatian carmaker, Rimac Automobili, acquired Bugatti. Technically, Volkswagen still partially owns Bugatti through Porsche, which has a 45-percent share in the French hypercar manufacturer. The Porsche connection might prove to be instrumental in making the first-ever, production Bugatti sedan, rumored to already be in the works. For better or worse, a Bugatti sedan is more plausible than you may think. Here’s why.

Mate Rimac, the Croatian innovator and entrepreneur, is now the CEO of Bugatti Rimac. He also founded Rimac Automobili, the EV hypercar manufacturing company that unveiled the 1877-horsepower electric Nevera in August 2021. In November of that same year, Rimac Automobili merged with the iconic French automaker Bugatti, to form Bugatti Rimac. The merger saw Rimac Group, the parent company of Rimac Automobili, become the majority shareholder with a 55 percent stake. Porsche, under the Volkswagen Group, holds the remaining 45 percent stake. This partnership brought together two powerhouses in the automotive world, merging Rimac’s EV technology expertise with Bugatti’s luxury and performance heritage.