Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo in Detail with Live

Porsche is giving us a strong hint at the future of the Panamera series with its new Sport Turismo Concept that was unveiled during a press event on the eve of the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

With the Panamera Sport Turismo concept, Porsche's intention is to kill three birds with one stone, in the sense that it is previewing both a new design language for the next Panamera saloon and a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain, while also testing the waters for an expansion of the series with a more practical and roomy, estate-like model.

 "The body concept of the Panamera Sport Turismo is an outlook on a possible Porsche sports car of tomorrow," said the company in a press statement.

The Sport Turismo is 1,990 mm wide, 1,401 mm tall and 4,950 mm long, which makes it 61mm wider, 17mm lower and 20mm shorter than the current Panamera.

At least in concept form, the Sport Turismo has a slightly more aggressive and simultaneously sleeker appearance than today's Panamera, but this could all change once it enters the realm of production.

Inside, Porsche's designers went all futuristic with the styling, color options and tech gadgets with the Sport Turismo offering individual seating for four passengers.

For its motivation, the study uses an experimental plug-in hybrid powertrain developed from the parallel full hybrid system implemented today in the Panamera S Hybrid and Cayenne S Hybrid models.

The drive system links Porsche's production 3.0-liter V6 engine with 329hp (245kW / 333PS) to a new electric motor that generates about 94hp (70 kW / 95PS), or twice as much as in today’s Porsche hybrid drive. The system's total output is 410hp (306kW / 416PS).

The car's lithium-ion battery is located within the boot floor and can be externally charged within 2.5 hours (depending on the power supply). Porsche says that the Panamera Sport Turismo can be driven in pure electric mode up to a speed of 130 km/h (81mph) and can cover distances of over 30 km (19 miles).

With the use of the battery, the concept's combined fuel consumption is less than 3.5 liters per 100 km (67.2mpg US or 80.7mpg UK), while CO2 emissions are under 82 g/km.