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.

One of the biggest obstacles facing oil-burning vehicles in our market revolves around emissions standards, however, by employing AdBlue fluid injection in the exhaust stream and selective catalytic reduction technology, the Cayenne Diesel is able to meet U.S. Tier 2 Bin 5 requirements.

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).

Because maximum torque is delivered at just 1,750 rpm, the Cayenne Diesel is reportedly rather quick, with 0-60 mph times of around 7.2 seconds and a top speed of 135 miles per hour. It’s also able to tow up to 7,716 pounds behind it and has a range of 740 miles on a single tank of fuel.

The Cayenne Diesel as sold in the U.S. will be offered exclusively with an eight-speed automatic transmission but sadly won’t incorporate the stop/start feature available on other Cayenne models.

When it goes on sale in September this year, the Cayenne Diesel will retail for $55,750 before destination fees, other charges and taxes.

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Now the spectrum has warped, and the poles are coming closer. The Cayenne S Hybrid is about as far away from the earnest nerdiness of the Prius as any Porsche can get. Porsche had first discussed a hybrid Cayenne in 2005; the first functioning version appeared at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2007 and production vehicles arrived in the fall of 2010 as 2011 models.

The Porsche Cayenne was all new for 2011 and there are no significant changes for the 2012 model year. But it does receive some new features, such as blind spot monitoring, upgraded carpeting for seatbacks and cargo area and body colored wheel arch extensions. Base price for the 2012 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid is $69,000, a $1,300 increase from last year.

“Sailing on Electricity”

When Porsche puts hybrids on the market, it’s a clear signal that the technology has broken out of the green ghetto. Of course, for Porsche, it tailors its hybrids to the expectations of a sports car buyer. That means adding a 47-horsepower electric motor to a supercharged 333-horsepower V-6 engine that brings total output to 380 ponies and a peak torque of 428 pounds feet at just 1000 rpm.

Porsche joins other manufacturers in the move away from the continuously variable transmission (CVT) employed by most hybrid vehicles. The eight-speed, driver-shiftable automatic transmission is not only a less costly approach, it wrings out the most power from the engine and makes the Cayenne S Hybrid feel like a normal SUV.

The drivetrain is completed with an all-wheel drive system with a self-locking center differential. Biased 58 percent to the rear during normal driving conditions, if one of the wheels starts to loose grip, the differential directs torque to the axle with the most traction.

The hybrid system’s unique feature is a hydraulic clutch between the engine and motor that disengages the engine so it can shut down under light loads. The electric motor then takes up the load until the engine restarts. Porsche engineers call the result “sailing” – for the quiet sensation of speed using only electric power.

As in most hybrids, the electric motor also restarts the engine, and recharges the 288-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery pack fitted into the former spare-tire well. This is a simpler and less costly system than Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, but it comes with drawbacks, one being that the vehicle can’t use the engine to recharge the batteries while running on electric power at the same time.

Porsche’s hybrid system is tuned to give lots of electric assist at highway speeds. This makes sense, since the large, heavy, tall SUV isn’t an ideal urban car, and may spend less time in city traffic than other hybrids.

Illegal All-Electric Speed!

Porsche says the Cayenne S Hybrid runs up to 1.2 miles in all-electric mode. More remarkably, the company also says it can run on electricity at speeds up to 86 miles per hour – though that’s slightly deceptive, since it means the engine may shut down for a while at speeds that high, leaving the electric motor to propel the car. Still, traveling on battery power at speeds higher than any legal U.S. limit is quite an accomplishment for a 5,000-pound SUV.

As for on-road performance, the company says the hybrid Cayenne posts 0 to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds with both the electric motor and the boosted engine providing power. Top speed is 150 mph. At the same time, fuel economy ratings of 20 in the city and 24 on the highway – while not dramatically high numbers – are a big step up from its gasoline powered brethren, which have city fuel economy in the mid-teens.

For the carbon-conscious hybrid crowd those fuel economy numbers are pathetic, and mentioning 0-to-60 mph times and triple digit speeds is sacrilege. But to Porsche and their customers, the combination of performance, speed and increased fuel economy is just as important as fuel mileage alone is to Toyota Prius buyers.

Panamera Influence

When Porsche redesigned the second-generation Cayenne for 2011, it didn’t stray too far from the original, but far enough to distinguish it from the frumpy sheetmetal of the outgoing model. Visually, this latest edition appears smaller than its predecessor but it is actually a little longer, wider and taller than before.

The Panamera sedan influence is evidenced by a front end that flaunts integrated bi-xenon headlights that flow into raised fenders that sit higher than the sculpted hood and in the rear, taillights that extend into a liftgate that now tips slightly forward. With broader shoulders, tauter lines and more sculpting, the Cayenne is more European sport wagon than boxy sport utility. The only evidence of its green-ness are small hybrid badges adorning the front fenders, that in contrast to large, integrated exhaust tips that speak performance.

Inside, the Panamera imprint is prominent with a high center console that rises up to meet the dashboard center stack like a sport sedan. The instrument cluster is Porsche’s traditional set of five overlapping gauges with a dominant centered tachometer, as in a racecar. The smaller speedometer seems secondary. The S Hybrid instruments differ as they provide hybrid system information.

The interior is an elegant blend of tech and taste; it makes its statement with high quality materials, clean lines and flawless execution. Leather seats, front and rear, are all-day long comfortable. Automobile magazine stated that the hybrid’s cabin “is a wonderful place to spend time.”

That said, the array of controls on the center stack are so flummoxing they appear to require a week of intense focus just to operate the audio system and navigation controls successfully. While Automobile magazine praised the interior, it went on to say, “The only thing that mars the interior is the fact that there are simply too many buttons and switches. I counted: there are 24 buttons and 5 toggle switches on the center console, 15 buttons on the stereo, and 11 on the overhead console.”

Behind The Steering Wheel

Porsche’s 2012 Cayenne S Hybrid is a proficient blend of performance and fuel economy. By the company’s sports car standards it’s a very large, heavy vehicle, but it surprises with its athleticism. That’s due in part to a longer wheelbase – distance between front and rear axles – and a larger track – distance between opposite wheels – than the previous model. Throw in the all-wheel drive set up that enables variable distribution of torque between the rear wheels to enhance cornering dynamics, and the Porsche faithful are satisfied that the sports cars heritage is preserved.

Even the car magazines have recognized that hybrid and performance is no longer an oxymoron. Road and Track said, “Before you proclaim that Porsche has officially sold out to the soccer mom demographic by building not just an SUV, but a hybrid SUV, trust us, this new Cayenne will not leave you yawning” And Motor Trend went so far as to call the Cayenne S Hybrid a GT, “Fast, efficient, and effortlessly capable of crossing continents: That sounds like the classic definition of a Grand Tourer – a GT. Throw in all-road, all-weather capability, and you have a GT well-suited to America’s vast distances, varied roads, and volatile climate. You have the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid.”

When it comes to oomph, Popular Mechanics noted, “There’s plenty of power throughout the rev-range, thanks to the supercharger and the inherent torque of the electric motor.” Automobile magazine was also impressed and stated, “Less than a mile into our drive with the Cayenne S Hybrid, we’re impressed with the powertrain. Why? It’s the hybrid that you’d never know was a hybrid.”

Economics

If your shopping list for a five-passenger hybrid luxury crossover includes performance, then your only choice is the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid because BMW has discontinued its ActiveHybrid X6. So, fuel economy and performance starts at $69,000. Bear in mind, however, that standard features usually found at this price level such as an auto-dimming rear view mirror, heated front seats and parking sensors are part of option packages on the Cayenne. Check all of the option boxes and the S Hybrid gets close to $80,000.

Does fuel economy trump performance? Then the Lexus RX 450h could be the one. It’s starting price is more than $20,000 less than the Porsche and gas mileage is 10 mpg better in the city, four mpg better on the highway. Of course it comes nowhere close to the Cayenne’s performance cachet.

Is Porsche serious about hybrids or was the Cayenne just a green flag hoisted to improve its image? The automaker has answered that question with the Panamera S Hybrid along with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid racecar that uses flywheel hybrid technology and the upcoming 718 horsepower 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar.

Electrification of vehicles for Porsche is not an option; it’s the road to continued production of fast, fun cars for the street and racetrack.

Prices are Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) at time of publication and do not include destination charges, taxes or licensing.

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Porsche’s Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen factory in planning to begin production of the 918 Spyder hybrid in September 2013—and will produce no more than 918 (get the pun).

We can’t wait for Consumer Reports to run its traditional return-on-investment payback calculations for this hybrid, with these features:

• 500-plus horsepower V8 engine
• Two electric motors with a total of at least 218 horsepower
• Electric-only driving range of more than 16 miles
• Manual roof system with removable panels that can be stored in the front luggage compartment
• Variable all-wheel drive system with independent control of the drive forces on both axles
• Liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack
• Zero to 60 mph in about 3.1 seconds
• Top speed of 199 mph

Fuel economy numbers will be announced closer to the production date. (But come on, now. Does it really matter?)

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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.

For the carbon-conscious hybrid crowd those fuel economy numbers are pathetic, and mentioning 0 to 60 mph times and triple digit speeds is sacrilege. But to Porsche and their customers, the combination of performance, speed and increased fuel economy is just as important as fuel mileage alone is to Toyota Prius buyers.

It’s difficult being an auto manufacture today, and even more so for companies like Porsche who have to meet rising efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions regulations throughout the world, yet they don’t manufacture vehicles that play in the more fuel-efficient categories of the market. Consider: The European Union has established a target of reducing Porsche’s CO2 emissions to 216 grams per kilometer by 2015 from 255g/km now. The company believes “>hybrids will help the company meet the goal.

The Cayenne S Hybrid is a good first step in the right direction toward meeting a variety of different fuel efficiency and emissions mandates. Kudos to the Porsche engineers that figured out how to get 21-mpg city/25 highway from a 5,000 pound vehicle powered by a 333 horsepower supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine.

Sure, the hybrid system that includes a 34-kWh electric motor and a 288-volt nickel metal-hydride battery pack plays a major role in the increased fuel economy, but that isn’t the whole story. Porsche, like most auto companies are placing their vehicles on diets.

Weight of the Cayenne Hybrid was reduced about 400 pounds by using a lighter all-wheel-drive system rather than a 4×4 drivetrain. In addition, Porsche designers replaced heavier steel elements with more aluminum in the vehicle body. The weight trimming still leaves the hybrid nearly 500 pounds heavier than the gas-powered Cayenne V6, but it points to the industry’s trend toward using advanced materials and forgoing features to reduce weight across all segments of vehicles.

These measures are cost-effective strategies for improving fuel efficiency—even if it doesn’t result in immediate cost savings for Porsche consumers. The Cayenne S Hybrid is about $20,000 more than the gas-powered V6 Cayenne; $4,000 more than the gasoline Cayenne S all-wheel drive.

Is Porsche serious about hybrids or is the Cayenne just a green flag hoisted to improve their image? The automaker answered that question two weeks ago when development chief, Wolfgang Duerheimer, said, “In the future, we will have hybrid drive in every model line.” Electrification of vehicles for Porsche is not an option; it’s the road to continued production of fast, fun cars for the street and racetrack.

The post Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid Has Sticker Price of $68,675 appeared first on HybridCars.com.

For the carbon-conscious hybrid crowd those fuel economy numbers are pathetic, and mentioning 0 to 60 mph times and triple digit speeds is sacrilege. But to Porsche and their customers, the combination of performance, speed and increased fuel economy is just as important as fuel mileage alone is to Toyota Prius buyers.

It’s difficult being an auto manufacture today, and even more so for companies like Porsche who have to meet rising efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions regulations throughout the world yet, they don’t manufacture vehicles that play in the more fuel-efficient categories of the market. Consider: The European Union has established a target of reducing Porsche’s CO2 emissions to 216 grams per kilometer by 2015 from 255g/km now. The company believes hybrids will help the company meet the goal.

The Cayenne S Hybrid is a good first step in the right direction toward meeting a variety of different fuel efficiency and emissions mandates. Kudos to the Porsche engineers that figured out how to get 21-mpg city/25 highway from a 5,000 pound vehicle powered by a 333 horsepower supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine.

Sure, the hybrid system that includes a 34-kWh electric motor and a 288-volt nickel metal-hydride battery pack plays a major role in the increased fuel economy, but that isn’t the whole story. Porsche, like most auto companies are placing their vehicles on diets.

Weight of the Cayenne Hybrid was reduced about 400 pounds by using a lighter all-wheel-drive system rather than a 4×4 drivetrain. In addition, Porsche designers replaced heavier steel elements with more aluminum in the vehicle body. The weight trimming still leaves the hybrid nearly 500 pounds heavier than the gas-powered Cayenne V6, but it points to the industry’s trend toward using advanced materials and forgoing features to reduce weight across all segments of vehicles.

These measures are cost-effective strategies for improving fuel efficiency—even if it doesn’t result in immediate cost savings for Porsche consumers. The Cayenne S Hybrid is about $20,000 more than the gas-powered V6 Cayenne; $4,000 more than the gasoline Cayenne S all-wheel drive.

Is Porsche serious about hybrids or is the Cayenne just a green flag hoisted to improve their image? The automaker answered that question two weeks ago when development chief, Wolfgang Duerheimer, said, “In the future, we will have hybrid drive in every model line.” Electrification of vehicles for Porsche is not an option; it’s the road to continued production of fast, fun cars for the street and racetrack.

The post Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid Has Sticker Price of $68,675 appeared first on HybridCars.com.

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. Even though the company had already announced that it would produce a hybrid version of the new Cayenne sport utility, Macht rejected the idea of giving its sports cars a gasoline-electric powertrain. He said Porsche sports cars are not generally driven in the city, which is where a hybrid makes the most sense.

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 company recently launched its hybrid version of its Cayenne and next year a Panamera sedan will go on sale with the Cayenne’s hybrid technology. The Panamera hybrid will be able to travel about three to four miles under electric power according to Heinz-Jakob Neusser who heads Porsche’s drivetrain development.

In July, The Supervisory Board at Porsche gave the go-ahead on development of the 918 Spyder, the 718-horsepower all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid sports car with a claimed 3.2-seconds 0-62 mph quickness and outstanding fuel economy. Expected as early as 2012, Porsche has stated nearly 900 potential buyers have signed up for Spyder hybrid, only 100 less than the automaker has said is needed for it to manufacture the car.

Change of Heart, With a Little Nudge

Why this change in direction? Primarily, government heat. The European Union has established a target of reducing Porsche’s CO2 emissions to 216 grams per kilometer by 2015 from 255g/km now. The company believes hybrids will help the company meet the goal.
Smaller engines are another possibility in reducing CO2 emissions. “If the CO2 guidelines require it, then our engines will become smaller and may have just four cylinders,” Duerheimer confided to Automotive News Europe.

He is considering turbocharging and direct injection that could transform a four-cylinder powerplant into a sports car engine. “The important thing is that the performance has to be right. The 911 must always be on the cutting edge.”

Another area Porsche is looking at to reduce greenhouse emissions is weight reduction. Like BMW, the automaker is developing carbon fiber car bodies. For a Porsche sports car the weight loss would be about 110 pounds and could be produced in the next five years.
Also playing a role in Porsche’s change of heart about hybrids is the takeover by Volkswagen. VW chairman Dr. Martin Winterkorn plans on expanding the Porsche model lineup in the not-too-distant future to sell 150,000 vehicles annually—double the sales they have now. This plays into Volkswagen’s ambitions to nearly triple its share in the U.S. auto market to six percent and increase sales to one million cars by 2018.

This also helps to meet another government regulation: California’s Air Resources Board has mandated that the largest carmakers by volume must together sell about 60,000 plug-in hybrids and electric cars combined from model years 2012 through 2014.

The post Porsche’s U-Turn: Hybrid Sports Cars Coming After All appeared first on HybridCars.com.

If only a handful of well-heeled buyers will fork over the dollars for the Cayenne S Hybrid, then why should folks interested in hybrids—as a means to cut emissions and reduce use of petroleum—care about this vehicle?

Light and Fast

First, Porsche’s willingness to shift down in vehicle weight is noteworthy. Porsche reduced the weight of the Cayenne Hybrid by about 400 pounds by using a lighter all-wheel-drive system rather than a 4×4 drivetrain. In addition, Porsche designers replaced heavier steel elements with more aluminum in the vehicle body. The weight trimming still leaves the hybrid nearly 500 pounds heavier than the gas-powered Cayenne V6, but it points to the industry’s trend toward using advanced materials and forgoing features to reduce weight across all segments of vehicles. These measures are cost-effective strategies for improving fuel efficiency—even if it doesn’t result in immediate cost savings for Porsche consumers. The Cayenne S Hybrid is about $20,000 more than the gas-powered V6 Cayenne.

The other trend that green car fans should acknowledge is the use of hybrid and plug-in technology in the high-performance segment. We’ve written quite a bit about green high-tech in motorsports—perhaps best illustrated by Porsche’s own 480-horsepower 911 GT3 R Hybrid.

Porsche took green speed even further when the company last month decided to put the 718-horsepower 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar into production. The Porsche 918 Spyder is capable of 0-60 mph in about 3 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph. And it will cost approximately $650,000.

Okay, that’s a bit over-the-top, but the 918 Spyder makes no pretense of being anything other than a slick promo for Porsche’s engineering and design prowess. The same thing, to a lesser degree, holds true for the Cayenne S Hybrid. But isn’t better to have Porsche playing with full hybrid technology, plug-in systems, and light-weighting, rather than entirely ignoring these fuel efficient technologies?

The post While Out of Reach, Porsche Hybrids Highlight Green Strategies appeared first on HybridCars.com.

Porsche is not the only hybrid maker trumpeting the all-EV capability of its conventional hybrids. Ford promoted the Ford Fusion Hybrid’s ability to travel up to 47 mph without using gasoline. The 2010 Toyota Prius’s “EV” button allows drivers, under some conditions, to force the engine off, allowing the car to run up to 25 miles per hour from battery power alone for about one mile.

As any driver of a full hybrid—or a plug-in car—will tell you, it’s a magical feeling when a vehicle moves down the road without gasoline in near silence. But in the case of a conventional hybrid—rather than the plug-in kind—the net result of maximizing the EV mode is to quickly drain a battery that was not designed for high demand all-electric driving. Just like when you need to catch your breath after a long sprint, the hybrid’s gasoline engine is more likely to come on stronger and longer to refill that battery to an optimal level. In the end, that undermines the hybrid’s core efficiency strategy of juggling different aspects of the drive cycle with the best mix of gasoline and electric power. The mixing and matching of electricity and gasoline is how a vehicle like the Toyota Prius can achieve a remarkable 50 miles to the gallon.

Efficiency vs. Electricity

So, it’s a nice claim to say that a hybrid can travel X miles per hour all-electric, but the likely net result of high-speed EV mode is reduced MPG. This once again proves that the name of the game is efficiency, not electricity.

By the way, Porsche also says that the Cayenne hybrid can “sail” on electric power at speeds up to 97 mph.

The empty Porsche claims underscore that if you’re driving a non-plug hybrid, all of the energy to move the car ultimately comes from the gas engine—and all-EV mode is not going to last very long. This doesn’t mean that a hybrid’s all-electric mode is lame. Not at all. For example, it’s incredibly useful when traveling short distances at low speeds. That’s why Praveen Cherian, Ford’s hybrid program leader, speaking about the Ford Fusion Hybrid said the EV mode in conventional hybrids “allows drivers to maximize fuel efficiently in many driving situations. For example, this would allow drivers to travel around their subdivision and parking areas in all-electric mode.”

But the claim that a hybrid can travel up to 30 or 40 or 50 miles per hour in all-EV mode, even if true, is mostly a clever marketing claim that should be taken with a grain of salt.

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