Porsche Panamera S Hybrid 970.1 vs Porsche Panamera 4 970.1: which is truly faster?

Off the line, the Panamera 4 hits 100 km/h in 5.78 s versus 5.87 s for the Panamera S Hybrid. The 0.09 s gap is negligible: both vehicles are neck and neck.

At 200 metres, the Panamera 4 is doing 128 km/h against 130 km/h for the Panamera S Hybrid. The gap is 0.08 s. The gap remains stable from the start.

At 400 metres standing start, the Panamera 4 crosses the line in 14.10 s versus 14.14 s. The 0.04 s gap represents roughly 2 m of track

Past 400 metres, the situation changes. The Panamera 4 maxes out at 243 km/h while the Panamera S Hybrid keeps accelerating towards 254 km/h. At 600 metres, the gap has dropped to 0.01 s.

Around 640 metres, both vehicles are level. This is the inversion point: the Panamera S Hybrid overcomes its launch deficit thanks to a 11 km/h higher top speed.

At 1,000 metres, the Panamera S Hybrid finishes in 25.88 s versus 25.92 s. The 0.03 s delta shows an extremely tight race.

The Panamera 4 features all-wheel drive (AWD) against the Panamera S Hybrid’s RWD. At low speeds (0-30, 0-50, 0-80 km/h), AWD doubles the driven contact area: all four wheels transmit torque to the road, virtually eliminating wheelspin at launch. This traction advantage is decisive in the range where the motor delivers peak torque, before power and aerodynamics take over.

Both rivals are electronically governed, but not at the same level: the Panamera S Hybrid is capped at 270 km/h, the Panamera 4 at 257 km/h. This isn’t a physical engine limit - it’s a manufacturer choice, usually for tyre safety or homologation reasons. Neither car reaches its true aerodynamic top speed.

With two combustion powertrains, the difference comes down to power-to-weight ratio (5.14 kg/hp vs 5.99 kg/hp) and transmission (Unknown vs Automatic).

In European road use (130 km/h max), both vehicles reach the legal speed limit in under 9.32 seconds. The 0.09 s difference in 0 to 100 km/h is mostly felt in motorway merging and overtaking.