Judging by the hand gestures made by the passenger riding shotgun, it's safe to say Porsche wasn't exactly thrilled to stumble upon our spy photographers. The Panamera was spotted in Germany near the company's R&D center in Weissach while hiding its novelties under cleverly applied camouflaged. But how new will the sports sedan really be? We're leaning toward a heavily updated second-generation model in the same vein as the recently unveiled 2024 Cayenne.
At first glance, it looks as though the prototype is devoid of any disguise. However, it has stickers at the front to partially conceal the new headlights, presumably the HD Matrix LED setup we saw on its SUV sibling not long ago. Another piece of deceiving camo is on the front fenders where the real vertical vent is smaller than Porsche wants you to believe. The rear pillar is also partially hidden since we can't see the tiny quarter glass.
2024 Porsche Panamera facelift spy photos
At the back, the taillights are slimmer and remain largely hidden under a plastic piece. The quad exhaust system leads us to believe that the house of Zuffenhausen was testing a higher-performing derivative of the Panamera. As a matter of fact, getting back to the side profile, you'll notice that the prototype was riding on centerlock wheels. Might this be a future track-focused version?
This fresh batch of spy shots doesn't contain any images showing the interior, but the cabin was captured a while ago, looking predictably a lot like the 2024 Cayenne's. There should be a fully digital 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment, and possibly a 10.9-inch screen on the passenger side of the dashboard.
The world premiere could take place near the end of the year when the Panamera should get more power for many of its engines while the plug-in hybrid is expected to receive an improved battery for a greater electric range. Look no further than the tweaks applied to the 2024 Cayenne to get an idea of how the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe rival will be revised.
A new-ish Panamera means the model will peacefully coexist with the electric Taycan for many years to come by following the same strategy applied to the SUVs. The Macan EV coming next year won't spell the end for the ICE-powered model, at least not right away. In addition, Porsche will sell the combustion-engined Cayenne even after the namesake EV will have hit the market.
