We’ve seen prototypes of the updated Porsche Panamera circulating for the better part of a year now, but this still-camouflaged engineering sample is packing what appears to be a production-ready interior, complete with a production-ready visual of the updated Panamera’s exterior. Sure, the disguise on this prototype is fairly minimal at this point (and really has been since last May) but this interior shot bolsters support for what we already suspected — that this is indeed a follow-on update to the existing car rather than an all-new Panamera.
The low-res display image doesn’t give us much that we can’t see from the prototype’s exterior, granted, but we can see the larger, squared-off front end prominently against the silver (a German car in silver; how original) finish. There’s also a little spoiler showing on the rear deck that is not deployed on this prototype, but if you close your eyes really tight and use your imagination …
Meanwhile, the exterior has evolved since the last time we saw a prototype on the road. The new vertical fog lights have an actual shape now (you can see the tape done up to look like a lamp has partially fallen off the passenger-side grille insert) and the grille now has fixed slats. The rear bumper on this prototype is new too, but obviously not final. The pronounced dimples are quite something; we suspect they won’t stick around for production.
While stretching a model’s service life is certainly nothing new, we’re entering a phase where it’s likely to become even more commonplace. With automakers shifting their long-term development targets away from ICE in order to focus on electrification, models that rely heavily on fossil fuel powertrains will continue to have their lifecycles further extended in order to bridge the gap between legacy powertrains and battery power, meaning the Stellantis view of platform longevity may become more commonplace before the majority of the industry transitions to BEV.
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Source: www.autoblog.com