Porsche

Upcoming Porsche Cayenne diesel to be a V6

Porsche is having a tough time sticking to their guns when it comes to not using diesel engines, as we recently reported. We know that the Cayenne is likely to get a diesel, but what we have not known up until now is what kind of diesel engine will appear in the Cayenne. According to reports, Porsche seems to have chosen the 3.0 liter V6 engine, not the 4.2 liter V8 from the Audi Q7, or the diesel V10 from the VW Touareg. In all honesty, we can't think of any problem with using a diesel in the Cayenne, which is already considered by many to be the anti-Porsche. Considering that the vehicle is already as far from a sports car as can be, what difference is there whether it's powered by a gasoline V6 or a diesel V6? Remember, too, that Porsche has already announced plans to offer a new hybrid version of the SUV.
Current information places the diesel Cayenne on the market in 2009, a year ahead of the hybrid model.

Porsche does about face on diesel, Cayenne TDI coming in 2009

In the past, Porsche has repeatedly played down the idea of offering diesel engines in line. The rationale is that oil burners don't fit the character of Porsche's sports cars. That may well be true for cars like the Booster and 911 but the Cayenne is a different animal. Porsche has also said that the relatively low volumes of their models would make it hard to financially justify the development of a new diesel engine. Porsche is apparently now ready to introduce a diesel-powered Cayenne as soon as mid-2009. The Cayenne, which shares a platform with the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7, would take a diesel engine from the VW group. The Touareg currently offers a 5 cylinder, a 3.0L V-6 and a V-10 diesel while the Q7 is offered with both the V-6 and a 4.2L V-8 TDI. If a Cayenne diesel is launched it would most likely be powered by the 326hp V08 diesel.

London Mayor to Porsche: butt out of England's elections, make cleaner cars

The war of words between the Mayor of London and Porsche is heating up. Thanks to Mayor Ken Livingstone (the guy in the black Prius), London's congestion charge will be increased, a move that sparked the threat of a lawsuit and even the creation of a website by automaker Porsche. At a news conference today, Mayor Ken Livingstone said "they [Porsche] should be redoubling efforts to produce less-polluting cars" and notes that Berliners would be annoyed "if a British company tried to intervene in a mayoral election" (remember, Porsche is a German company).Livingstone is standing for his third term May 1 and, wouldn't you know it, his two opponents don't support the fee increases. Porsche spokesman Andrew Davis says they "are not interested in the election at all -- we're not a political company. ... We are simply fighting on the issue of modifying the congestion charge." I don't know Porsche, this web page and this one look a little political to me.

Porsche accelerating fuel economy efforts

Based on the claims Porsche as made about the hybrid system that they have developed for the upcoming Panamera and next generation Cayenne, they seem to be pretty advanced as far as parallel setups go. However, Porsches currently burn enough gasoline to be a serious problem with the new European CO2 limits. As a result the German manufacturer is actively recruiting engineers with experience on hybrid systems to help develop new state of the art hybrid technology. The company is evidently running want ads in Britain's Financial Times.Porsche is also looking at other ways to reduce fuel consumption including weight reductions like the magnesium doors on the new Panamera. They are also adding direct fuel injection to their engines which should provide a boost in both power and efficiency. In the past Porsche has been openly dismissive of diesel engines saying their weight and torque characteristics was incompatible with its cars. However, the success of newer high-performance diesels such as the Audis and Peugeots at Le Mans - as well as on the road - may be causing them to revisit that attitude too.