| Future Green Tech | Porsche Cayenne Hybrid |
Porsche is yet another manufacturer to release details of a hybrid system to drastically cut emissions and raise fuel economy. But not to be out done by other car companies, its hybrid system is said to be the most powerful to date, managing to propel the Cayenne to 75mph on battery power alone, which is in stark contrast to the Toyota Prius that can only manage 15mph before the petrol engine is called upon.
Porsche claims that its new motor will achieve up to 32mpg by the time it hits production - a large improvement over the regular current-generation Cayenne V6, which can only manage 21.9mpg on the Combined Cycle. The petrol-electric system will also reduce CO
2 emissions compared with the V6, by as much as 70g/km, bringing the total output down to 240g/km.
Porsche and Volkswagen are working along side each other to produce the next generation Cayenne and Touareg with plans to release them almost together, yet Porsche executives, including CEO Wendelin Wiedeking, are pushing for an earlier 2009 release because of increasing pressure for more environmentally-friendly vehicles, something SUVs are not credited with.
According to Porsche's Director of Hybrid Development, Michael Leiters, in an interview with
Automobilwoche, the new Cayenne will lose much of its off-road ability by being shorter and smaller, possibly in an attempt to cut weight and raise fuel economy.
The new Cayenne will not be the only Porsche hybrid however. Following suit with hybrid systems that even Ferrari is developing (as seen at the
Fiorano 60th birthday celebrations), Porsche is expected to offer a hybrid alternative in its new four-door coupé, the Panamera, available in 2009.
Kyle Molyneux - 26 Jul 2007
