Month: November 2023

Enlarge / The selected films span several decades to show how Hollywood's treatment of time travel in Hollywood has evolved. (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

Since antiquity, humans have envisioned various means of time travel into the future or the past. The concept has since become a staple of modern science fiction. In particular, the number of films that make use of time travel has increased significantly over the decades, while the real-world science has evolved right alongside them, moving from simple Newtonian mechanics and general relativity to quantum mechanics and the notion of a multiverse or more exotic alternatives like string theory.

But not all time-travel movies are created equal. Some make for fantastic entertainment but the time travel makes no scientific or logical sense, while others might err in the opposite direction, sacrificing good storytelling in the interests of technical accuracy. What we really need is a handy guide to help us navigate this increasingly crowded field to ensure we get the best of both worlds, so to speak. The Ars Guide to Time Travel in the Movies is here to help us all make better, more informed decisions when it comes to choosing our time travel movie fare.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list; rather, we selected films that represented many diverse approaches to time travel across multiple subgenres and decades. We then evaluated each one—grading on a curve—with regard to its overall entertainment value and scientific logic, with the final combined score determining a film's spot on the overall ranking. For the “science” part of our scoring system, we specifically took three factors into account. First and foremost, does the time travel make logical sense? Second, is the physical mechanism of time travel somewhat realistic? And third, does the film use time travel in narratively interesting ways? So a movie like Looper, which makes absolutely no sense if you think about it too hard, gets points for weaving time paradoxes thoroughly into the fabric of the story.

Enlarge / The new Panamera design features raised wings over the hood and new nose section with central air intake. The Turbo E-Hybrid gets some visual differentiation with air blades, a different Porsche crest, and side window trims. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

LEIPZIG, Germany—Although it feels like we recently tested the facelifted Porsche Panamera plug-in hybrid, it turns out that was more than three years ago. This means there's a new model due in 2024, and Porsche has given Ars a sneak peek at its next sedan as well as the factory that builds them, plus a little time behind the wheel. There's quite a lot to look forward to about the new Panamera, including a more powerful plug-in powertrain and much sharper handling.

Next spring will see the debut of a pair of V6-powered third-gen Panameras, but we're more interested in the other model that will show up a little later in 2024. It's called the Turbo E-Hybrid, and it pairs a 4.0 L twin-turbocharged V8 engine with a more powerful 187 hp (140 kW) electric motor for a combined output of 670 hp (500 kW) and 685 lb-ft (930 Nm).

That makes it a tiny bit less powerful but a lot more torque-y than the outgoing Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid we tested in 2019. We expect an even more powerful third-gen Turbo S E-Hybrid will probably appear in due time, as well as less expensive, less powerful versions like the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid too, but for now, all Porsche is saying is that it plans to offer four different E-Hybrid powertrain options given the demand for plug-in Panamera's.