Porsche Panamera Hybrid Variant Confirmed

The Porsche Panamera raised some eyebrows when it was launched this year. It’s quite singular really: a Porsche with four doors, and a sedan at that! It does cater to a different niche than your usual, run-of-the-mill Carrera or Boxster. However, it seems having a luxury sports sedan is not enough for this German marque.

At the LA Auto Show, Porsche has confirmed that the previously-announced planned hybrid version of the Panamera is in the works. Porsche is likely to use the same technology from the hybrid Cayenne currently being developed. While the turbo version of the current Panamera runs on a 4WD drivetrain, the hybrid might have to drop the 4WD to save on costs and to be able to support the Cayenne’s hybrid system.

The hybrid version of the Porsche Cayenne is expected to be out in the market by 2011. We can probably expect the same release year for the hybrid Panamera.