At the 2012 New York International Auto Show this week, Porsche has announced it will be bringing a diesel-powered version of its Cayenne SUV stateside, in time for the 2013 model year.
Porsche says the Cayenne Diesel, which sports a 3.0-liter V6 engine with common rail injection and a variable geometry turbocharger, produces 240 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, while delivering a combined 23 miles per gallon (city/highway).
Porsche is making quantum leaps with its hybrids, when it comes to power and price. Its $69,000 Cayenne S Hybrid SUV is on sale now, and will be followed by the $95,000 Panamera sedan coming late this year. Both cars manage fuel economy in the low 20s while offering 380 horsepower. But these vehicles look cheap and weak compared to the 500-horsepower $845,000 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid, for which the company began taking orders today.
Porsche is not yet fully a part of the Volkswagen family, but the connections run deep—especially when it comes to their midsize SUVs: the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg. The vehicles share a common powertrain, but there are key differences in terms of how the companies tackle the challenge of greater fuel efficiency (depending on the driving style and pocketbook of car buyers). Hybridcars.com had the chance to experience two hybrid versions, and one diesel, back-to-back at the last week’s Western Automotive Journalists' Media Day program in Monterey, Calif.
When the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid goes on sale next month, it will have a window sticker price of $68,675, including destination charges. Hey, that’s not bad when you consider the hybrid can scoot from zero-to-60 miles per hour in 6.1 seconds, has a top speed of 150 mph and an estimated fuel economy at 21 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.
Last January, Porsche’s CEO, Michael Macht, stated that the German automaker would not offer hybrid versions of the 911 and Boxster, denying rumors to the contrary. Monday, the German automaker flipped a U-turn when Porsche’s development chief, Wolfgang Duerheimer, said in an interview with trade publication Automotive News Europe, “In the future, we will have hybrid drive in every model line.” He also stated that in the future even its flagship 911 sports car will be available with hybrid drive and might only be offered with a four-cylinder engine.
The Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid, a $68,000 gas-electric SUV, will not be a big seller. Like other luxury hybrid SUVs from BMW and Cadillac, the Cayenne Hybrid is more of a platform for technology experimentation—rather than a whole-hearted effort to reinvent hybrids for high living. If only a handful of well-heeled buyers will fork over the dollars for the Cayenne S Hybrid, then why should green car fans care about this vehicle? A couple of reasons.
Last week, the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stopped Porsche from running an ad claiming that the new Cayenne S Hybrid “can even travel to a speed of 37 mph without using its V6 petrol engine." The agency believes the 37 mph claim is misleading because the vehicle travels only for a limited time and distance using power exclusively from the electric motor and batteries. The ASA is right. Hopefully, the ruling will raise awareness that the ability for conventional hybrids to travel in “all-electric mode” at high speeds is a cool trick—but relatively insignificant.
