Porsche Panamera wagon won’t return for another generation

A top executive at Porsche has revealed why the Panamera Sport Turismo station wagon will not be making a return for the new-generation model due next year.

First introduced in 2018, the Sport Turismo variant of the Panamera added a longer roof for improved practicality, at a price premium of about $7500.

Speaking with US publication Autoblog, Panamera model line vice president Dr Thomas Friemuth said: "When it comes to the customer's point of view, [the Sport Turismo] is a little bit of a design piece.

"The practicality of the car doesn't change much compared to [the Panamera sedan] because we have the huge hatch. The sedan's hatch is big, and the Sport Turismo's is more or less the same."

Consulting the Porsche specification sheet validates Dr Friemuth’s logic, with the sedan claiming 467 litres of space with the rear seats up, and 1306 litres with these seats folded. 

In comparison, the Panamera Sport Turismo gets 487 litres with the rear seats up, and this extends to 1356 litres with the rear seats folded. 

Comparing prices, in New South Wales the drive-away price of a Panamera 4 sedan is $236,153, whilst the drive-away price of the Panamera 4 Sport Turismo is $243,923.

This represents a $7770 difference between the two variants for an extra 50 litres of space in the boot. 

The Panamera Sport Turismo was reportedly struggling in the sales charts, with Dr Friemuth telling Autoblog the Sport Turismo variant represented “below 10 per cent” of international Panamera sales. 

In Australia, the Panamera Sport Turismo has seen a similar response, with the brand telling Drive in 2021 the wagon accounted for about 15 per cent of sales since its launch in 2018. 

Porsche Australia reported 60 Panameras as sold in 2022, and 67 so far this year. Using the 15 per cent sales share above as a guide, it is unlikely sales of the Sport Turismo have broken double figures in either of these periods.

Drive reported in 2021 that in 2020, two of the 23 Panameras sold were Sport Turismos, equating to 8.7 per cent of sales, according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Revealed as a new generation, the 2024 Panamera appears to be more of a heavy facelift rather than a completely new car, with updated exterior styling, revised underpinnings and a new interior.

Only two versions of the 2024 Panamera have been revealed so far: the rear-wheel-drive twin-turbo V6 petrol Panamera, and the all-wheel-drive twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid.

It’s understood the Panamera line-up may expand in the future, as it is broadened in Europe, but the Sport Turismo will not be included.