A diesel version of the new second generation Panamera is already expected to join the range that boasts of a gasoline and turbo versions at the moment, besides a hybrid Panamera. And for those who might have been waiting with bated breath for the oil-burner can also take solace from the fact that the car fitted with a V8 diesel has also been spotted doing the laps at the Nurburgring circuit.

Auto Evolution though believes the reason the German manufacturer is still lurking around the circuit is because it is keen to set a lap record with the diesel Panamera. That might sound improbable but can't be ruled out either given that the Alfa Romeo Giulia has recently been found to return an impressive lap time of 7:39 secs.

Even though the Giulia isn't exactly in the same league as the Panamera, the fact that it returned the respectable figures which is just one second less than that of the Panamera Turbo could be demeaning for the latter. Perhaps even more so considering that the Guilia does with a 5.2 hp engine while the 2017 Panamera Turbo has 550 hp on tap.

If that is not all, the Giula recently returned even better lap times of 7:32 minutes with a particular version equipped with an 8-speed auto box. Porsche might find it hard to improve on that further given than the 4.0-liter diesel V8 sourced from the Audi SQ7 already adds a 180 kg weight penalty to the 2017 Panamera.

As for the specifics, the 2017 Panamera Diesel boasts of a power rating of 422 PS and 850 Nm of torque, enough to propel the car to 62 mph from rest in 4.3 secs. While that might be just a few notches below the Panamera Turbo, the figure is still commendable for a vehicle weighing in at 2,125 kgs.

Then again, the Panamera diesel can also reach a top speed of 285 km/h and make it past the 200 km/hr mark in just 17 secs.

Meanwhile, here is the video of the 2017 Panamera diesel doing the rounds at Nurburgring.

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