Porsche Panamera GTS
Refreshed for 2020, the driver’s Panamera still impresses, but could internal competition deal a fatal blow?
PORSCHE MUST BE KEEPING A BEADY eye on sales of its Taycan and Panamera models. While the pair have some fundamental differences, the Venn diagram also crosses at several points, not least their five-door fastback layouts, four-seat cabins, broadly similar accelerative performance, and pricing. Any upswing in Taycan sales relative to its counterpart has to cast the Panamera’s future into doubt, doesn’t it?
Focus firmly on 2020 though, and the Panamera still has considerable appeal, freshened up with a gentle facelift and offered with as broad a span of models as ever. In the UK the range begins with the V6-powered Panamera 4, through the electrified 4S E-hybrid, to a stonking 621bhp Turbo S (which, incidentally, falls within a few grand of the similarly branded Taycan Turbo S).
Then, sitting ’twixt hybrid and Turbo S, there is the Panamera GTS, available like its siblings in both fastback (as pictured here) and Sport Turismo forms. The GTS lacks the 4’s entry-level price point, the 4S E-hybrid’s economy and the Turbo S’s blinding on-paper performance, but it does carry with it the quiet and nebulous accolade – much like GTS models across the Porsche line-up – of being the enthusiast’s choice.
This raises issues of its own. For how many buyers is a Panamera GTS their only car, serving not just daily duties but also as a weekend warrior or track toy? Probably not many, but if nothing else it’s a sign that Porsche cares so deeply about making cars for drivers that its large and heavy executive model is as deserving of the GTS badge as a Cayman is, or a 911.
Panameras of all flavours benefit from a range of behind-the-scenes improvements for 2020, with refinements to the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and Porsche Dynamic
Chassis Control (PDCC) systems, and tweaks to the steering aimed at improving feedback. Visually, all models now get the former Sport Design nose styling as standard, as well as a continuous strip of light across the tailgate. Turbo S variants get an entirely new front bumper design, while the GTS gets darkened tail-light lenses.
Most interesting is the calibration of the twinturbo 4-litre V8 found in the GTS. While it makes significantly less power than the similar unit in the Turbo S (473bhp plays 621bhp), Porsche has tuned it to deliver an increasing gallop towards the red line, mimicking the characteristics of a naturally aspirated motor. There’s a new sports exhaust too, which should amplify the V8’s voice in the era of petrol particulate filters.
And it does, too. Driven back-to-back with a Turbo S the GTS is definitely the more vocal of the pair, albeit by a slim margin, even if a touch more
volume still wouldn’t necessarily go amiss. It’s funny what constitutes a sporty character these days, but simply by being audible under every press of the throttle, even in the most placid driving mode, the GTS immediately feels more engaging than most luxury performance saloons.
The power delivery is true to Porsche’s word too, though that’s not at the expense of a healthy swell at low revs. Keen around town, the V8’s energy builds in the mid-range and keeps delivering more until the moment you reach the red line. Response is good too, whether you’re giving it an extra squeeze for overtaking or balancing the car midcorner, and while it’s not as explosive as the Turbo S, the V8’s note gives you a suitable impression of the (often sizeable) speeds you’re doing.
Like Panameras past, the GTS feels less large than you’d expect given its sheer dimensions. Typically well-judged ergonomics play a part, and once you’re up to speed the reassuring steering weight and responses let you direct the GTS with no more difficulty than a Golf GTI.
Four-wheel steering plays its usual remarkable tricks, drawing the car around some unseen pivot and warding off understeer to an impressive degree. Just occasionally it seems caught out by particular steering inputs, a delay where the rear wheels seem to not register an input and then overcompensate, leading to a ‘step’ in steering response. Broadly though, the way the GTS steers, grips and accelerates feels just as a large Porsche should.
The brakes have plenty of feel and endurance, the ride is comfortable and at a cruise the drivetrain is near-silent, all of which allow the GTS to play its limousine card, seemingly unaffected by the extra dynamic focus. Porsche hasn’t played too much with the cabin, and it didn’t really need to. Perhaps the greatest compliment is that it simply fades into the background once you’ve found your ideal driving position.
Track time illustrates that there’s only so much Porsche can do to hide the Panamera’s size and weight, but even the most demanding of customers should appreciate that with such a broad remit it will never be as entertaining as a Cayman or 911. Yet it remains consistently talented in enough areas to justify its place in this world – even if the Taycan might now be stepping on its toes.
Engine V8, 3996cc, twin-turbocharged Power 473bhp @ 6500rpm Torque 457lb ft @ 1800-4000rpm Weight 2040kg Power-to-weight 236bhp/ton 0-62mph 3.9sec Top speed 181mph Basic price £107,180 + About as capable and involving as big cars get - Still a heavy old thing, four-wheel steering not infallible evo rating