The 2021 Porsche Panamera, which recently set the “executive car” lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, is getting ready to hit the market officially. The new Panamera has updated styling and significant performance enhancements that helped it set that new record. There’s a host of powertrain choices, and the body has been tweaked. As you would expect, there’s tons of safety and infotainment tech along for the ride too.

2021 Porsche Panamera: Engine & Powertrain

First and foremost, there are the updates found in the engine bay. The Panamera Turbo S engine has changes to the crankshaft, con-rods, timing chain drive, torsional vibration dampers, fuel injectors, and, curiously, a reduced compression ratio. 
The updated 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 puts out an extremely healthy 620 horsepower and 604 lb-ft. of torque in the new Panamera Turbo S, which replaces the previous Panamera Turbo. With Launch Control active, this new engine enables the Panamera Turbo S sedan and Sport Turismo models (that’s the near-wagon like variant) to hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and top out at 196 mph.

Performance upgrades are also found in the twin-turbo V8 powering the Panamera GTS. It gets a 20 horsepower increase versus the previous model, up now to 473 horsepower and 457 lb-ft. of torque.

The powertrain in the new plug-in Panamera 4S E-Hybrid now has an electric motor paired with a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 for a total system output of 552 horse...