Porsche brings a twin-turbo V8 to its K1 flagship SUV
Weak Taycan sales pushed Porsche to drop its 80% EV target, and the seven-seat K1 SUV once planned as electric-only will now offer a V8 of up to 730 hp as well.
By
Owen Fairbrother
In brief
- The model known internally as K1 is now set to launch with combustion power, and the reason traces back to the car that opened Porsche’s electric era: the Taycan, which has struggled to find buyers.
- The next 718 sports car family, first intended to be purely electric, will be offered with combustion, hybrid and electric drivetrains.
- Mercedes-Benz, which swapped the C 63’s V8 for a turbocharged four-cylinder in 2024, has confirmed V8s are returning to its range, including an engine called the M177 Evo.
Porsche’s largest future SUV will not be electric-only after all. The model known internally as K1 is now set to launch with combustion power, and the reason traces back to the car that opened Porsche’s electric era: the Taycan, which has struggled to find buyers.
How the Taycan stalled
The Taycan arrived in 2019 as Porsche’s first fully electric model, a mid-size four-door sedan offered with one or two electric motors. Its sales trajectory has since turned downward.
The comparison with the Panamera is telling: the combustion sedan from the same brand finished more than 10,000 units ahead of its electric sibling. According to a report by CarBuzz, thin charging networks and high prices have steered shoppers toward hybrids or kept them in the gas cars they already own. The same outlet reports that Porsche’s profits have slid to near break-even.
From an 80% EV goal to a three-way lineup
Porsche once aimed for electric vehicles to make up 80% of its yearly sales. After a 2025 that moved more slowly than expected, it changed course, while keeping electrification as a central part of its strategy. The gap was wide: just 34.3% of its global deliveries that year were electrified in any form.
In its 2025 sales review, as quoted by CarBuzz, Porsche presented the shift as an answer to what buyers around the world want: a wider choice of drivetrains, with combustion engines and plug-in hybrids offered next to fully electric models.
Two concrete consequences follow. The next 718 sports car family, first intended to be purely electric, will be offered with combustion, hybrid and electric drivetrains. And Porsche has confirmed that the Cayenne and Panamera, which rely mostly on gas and hybrid power, will stay in production well into the 2030s. Readers following the Panamera’s future may also note reports that the next Panamera and Audi A8 could share underpinnings.
What the K1 now offers
The K1 is a seven-seat SUV meant to sit above the Cayenne as the brand’s flagship and take on the BMW X7. CarBuzz says the project, which still has no official name, is targeted for a 2028 release. Its revised powertrain plan compares with the original as follows.
| Item | Original plan | Current plan |
|---|---|---|
| Powertrains | Fully electric only | Twin-turbo V8 (gas and hybrid), V6 engines, plus a later EV |
| Top engine | No combustion engine planned | Upgraded 4.0-liter V8, up to 730 hp |
| Engine partner | Not applicable | V8 shared with the upcoming Audi Q9 |
Why the V8 needs Euro 7 work
Europe’s Euro 7 emissions standard takes effect in November 2026, and engines that fail it can no longer be sold there. CarBuzz notes the final rules are softer than first proposed. Porsche’s current V8 meets only the older Euro 6D level, so the company is investing millions to bring it into line for the Cayenne, Panamera and K1. The upgrades include new internal components and more restrictive exhaust systems, and they let the engine comply without relying on a hybrid system.
Porsche is not alone. BMW is updating its own V8 family for Euro 7. Mercedes-Benz, which swapped the C 63’s V8 for a turbocharged four-cylinder in 2024, has confirmed V8s are returning to its range, including an engine called the M177 Evo.
Featured image. Source: Pixabay. Credit: planet_fox. License: Pixabay Content License.
