The First Generation Porsche Panamera Was Initially Showcased To The World In The April Of 2009 At The International Shanghai Automobile Show, With This All New Four Door Luxury Saloon Model From The Germany Factory In Leipzig To Offer Porsche Clients Both New And Old An Exciting Spacious New Addition To The Company's Line Up. To The Purist Of Past Porsche Buyers This Introduction Came With Some Controversy, With Many Viewing The Panamera As Too Radical A Jump From What They Believed The Porsche Brand To Represent, But With The Factory Offering This Clever And Dramatic Luxury Four Door Saloon, It Was Soon Quickly Welcomed By Other Global Buyers Who Indeed Wanted All The Flair Of A Porsche In A More Usable Form. The Sumptuous Panamera Design Was The Brain Child Of Chief Designer Michael Mauer, With The Stretched Bonnet And The Rear Boot Hatch Resembling The Porsche 911 And With The Cars Total Length Being Just Over 195 Inches, The Internal Space Could Easily Accommodate Four Adults Comfortably. With The Aggressive Body, World Class Porsche Technology And Now With The Capabilities Of Clients Having The Options To Spec For More Relevant Specifications, This New Version Pushed The Germany Manufacturer Ahead Of Its Main Rivals Being Audi And Mercedes Benz, Which Set New Standards That Would Be Hard To Match Or Replicate. We Had To Wait A Further Three Years.
As part of the 2013 Panamera facelift, Porsche announced the introduction of a plug-in hybrid model, the Panamera S E-Hybrid. The plug-in version was unveiled at the April 2013 Shanghai Auto Show. The S E-Hybrid is powered by a 71 kW 95 BHP electric motor, with a total system power of 310 kW 416 BHP. Top speed amounted to 84 mph in all-electric mode, and acceleration from 0–62 mph took 5.8 seconds. The plug-in electric hybrid had a 9.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack capable of delivering a range of more than 20 miles under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standard. The battery could be fully charged in approximately 2½ hours from a 240 V power source.
In November 2013, the UK Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) approved the eligibility of the Panamera S E-Hybrid for the Plug-in Car Grant which entitles customers to a maximum purchase subsidy of £5,000 The plug-in hybrid was rated with a fuel economy of 91 MPG and CO2 emissions of 71 g/km.