Frankfurt 2013: 2014 Porsche Panamera Diesel gets a power and speed boost

Porsche unveiled the second generation Panamera Diesel at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. With a top speed of 161 mph, it's no farm truck, but is it just too sacrilegious to be a Porsche?

Do you like the Porsche 918 Spyder? The 887 horsepower, million-dollar plug-in hybrid hypercar? Well here’s something that has nothing in common with it, except a Porsche badge.

Unveiled alongside the production-spec 918 at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show was one of the most unlikely Porsches ever: the 2014 Panamera Diesel.

Yes, it’s a four-door Porsche with a diesel engine that looks like the deformed offspring of a 1990s Ford Taurus and a food processor.

Of course, Porsche has built diesel Panameras (and Cayennes) before, and this second generation 3.0-liter V6 has a few good things going for it. Namely, 300 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, available at an ultra-low 2,500 rpm.

The increase in power is attributed to a new high pressure, water-cooled turbocharger and revised engine internals.

Porsche says the Panamera Diesel will now do 0 to 62 mph in 6.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 161 mph. Those are significant improvements over the 2013 model’s 6.8 second 0 to 62 mph time and 152 mph top speed.

The Panamera Diesel also gets the same visual tweaks and other minor upgrades as the rest of the 2014 Panamera lineup.

No word yet on whether the reinvigorated Panamera Diesel will be sold in the United States, or whether we’ll have to continue making due with the 240 hp Cayenne Diesel.

http://www.digitaltrends.com

By Stephen Edelstein