Panamera Sport Turismo

Make
Porsche
Segment
Wagon

It's only been about two years since the second-generation Porsche Panamera (known internally as the 971) hit the scene and amended the serious aesthetic design flaws present on the first generation Panamera (codenamed the 970). But because the questionable looks of the 970 Panamera did little to slow down the sales phenomenon that Porsche had stumbled upon, the 971 debuted in 2017 to find that the competition was hard at work trying to improve on the sedan's recipe.

By that time, Mercedes had already hinted that it was working on a four-door version of the AMG GT, while Audi was hard at work preparing the second generation of the A7, the S version of which just debuted. But that's not a problem for Porsche and it's quintessentially German way of trying to dominate the market it's in.

We know this because our spy photographers have just caught the 971 Panamera flaunting a camouflaged body that's hiding the Porsche sedan's newly facelifted body underneath. To top things off, the Panamera spotted testing was none other than a Sport Turismo wagon variant.

Despite the Sport Turismo's wagon body style, expect the changes seen on this test mule to make it to the Panamera sedan. Unfortunately, those changes are far from obvious given that this Panamera Sport Turismo test mule looks a lot like the model currently on sale. Some of that has to do with the fact that Porsche camouflaged part of the Panamera's bumper and topped it off by adding fake LED daytime running lights to it. Our best guess is that the camouflage and fake lighting is there to hide the fact that the facelifted Panamera will gain some of the subtle tweaks that the 922 911 gets.

At the rear is also a small amount of camouflage that does nothing to cover up the most apparent change: a new design for the taillight graphics that joins the lights on both sides with a single lighting strip, which is bordered at the bottom by a section of curved lighting.

Additionally, expect the facelifted 971 Panamera to receive some interior tweaks, including a new steering wheel, as well as some engine and transmission upgrades designed to keep the sedan and Sport Turismo wagon in line with new European emissions regulations. If the subtlety of the Panamera's upcoming changes highlights one thing, it's that Porsche is still on top in this segment and, well, why fix something if it ain't broken?