The Turbo might be the fastest, but the GTS is the version of Porsche Panamera with the most sporting credentials. The car is supposed to be a sporty Grand Tourer with a touch of luxury. A big saloon car for those who like to drive. And it is. The Panamera GTS does many many things right. It’s powerful, it’s fast, it drives well, it’s spacious, it’s comfortable, and it’s a Porsche. There’s only thing wrong with it.

It is catastrophically ugly. The Panamera id indeed an ugly car, but the GTS with the distinctive design features in the front-end, side and rear area as well as black highlights, it’s even worse.

Here’s Autocar’s Vicky Parrot’s take on the German equivalent of Maserati Quattroporte GTS.

The power unit in the new Porsche Panamera GTS is a modified 4.8-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine, delivering 430 hp (316 kW) at 6,700 rpm, trumping the engine in its Panamera S/4S sister models by 30 hp (22 kW). The maximum torque also increased by comparison, from 500 Nm to 520 Nm. The way in which at the push of a button the Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) transmits the engine output to the all-wheel drive (PTM) -thanks to the Sport Chrono package featured as standard without interruption to the power flow -is especially dynamic. This collaboration enables the Porsche Panamera GTS to sprint to 100 km/h in under 4.5 seconds, accelerating on to its top speed of 288 km/h. With NEDC fuel consumption of 10.9 l/100 km – only 10.7 l/100 km with low-friction tyres – the Porsche Panamera GTS remains as much of an efficiency role model in its milieu as all Porsche models.