Porsche Panamera facelift due in April 2013

Published: 25 May 2012 Updated: 26 January 2015

Porsche will extensively modify the Panamera in April 2013, CAR can disclose.

The facelift is said to be so heavy that it almost looks like a new car, according to those who’ve seen the revised 2013 Porsche Panamera.

With any luck, it’ll get some of the panache of the new Boxster, which finally moves Porsche into the realms of elegance after a slew of opinion-dividing designs.

What else is in store for the facelifted 2013 Panamera?

We hear that the Panamera 4S sheds its heavy V8 in favour of a high-performance 3.0-litre V6.

Rather than a trade-down, it’s set to be a trade-up: twin turbos will breathe on the smaller capacity engine with such gusto that it’ll develop a stout 420bhp.

And – this would have raised a few eyebrows five years ago – the Panamera will also soon adopt Audi’s V8 TDI diesel engine. The derv Panamera is a strong seller, particularly in Europe, so it makes sense to extend the choice of black-pumper models.

And the Porsche Panamera Mk2 waits in the wings

Indeed. The second-generation Panamera is due at the Frankfurt motor show in 2015, according to CAR’s well-placed sources.

It’ll be spun from the VW Group’s new MSB architecture, which means the future Panamera will have more content clustered from the likes of big Audis, Bentleys and even top-range Volkswagens. It’s like the Cayenne/Touareg/Q7 all over again.

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By Georg Kacher

European editor, secrets uncoverer, futurist, first man behind any wheel

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