Hybrid News

Filed under: Diesel, Porsche, India

Porsche just launched its first modern diesel engine in the Cayenne sport utility vehicle, and the German automaker said when it was first introduced that it was planning on bringing the model to other markets. Considering that the Cayenne is Porsche’s best-selling vehicle in India, it’s not all that surprising that the oil-burner is slated for an Indian introduction in short order. Even better, according to Car Trade India, “a diesel version of this popular SUV is expected to sell like a hot cake.” That sounds good, right?

Currently, Cayenne diesels are produced at Porsche’s Leipzig factory, and this is where the Indian Cayenne’s will be exported from. Europeans are the first to get the diesel, and they’ll officially get the option beginning in February for a base price of €47,250. The 3.0L V6 engine comes from Audi and offers up 240-horsepower and a useful 405 lb-ft of torque.

[Source: Car Trade India]

India getting Porsche Cayenne Diesel originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Diesel, Porsche

After spending an inordinate amount of time over the last two years denying that it would ever build a diesel vehicle because diesels were incompatible with Porsche’s image, the company finally relented and announced it would put a diesel in the Cayenne SUV. Now, barely a month after that announcement, Porsche has launched production of the Cayenne diesel at its Leipzig factory. Porsche is installing the same 240 hp 3.0L ͢ TDI that Audi and Volkswagen are using in the coming Q7 and Touareg for the US market. In the Q7 on the recent Audi Mileage Marathon, we achieved an average of almost 29 mpg over nearly 3,000 miles from New York to Denver.

For now, Porsche is only planning to offer the Cayenne diesel in Europe where it will be priced from €47,250. It goes on sale in February.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Porsche launches production of the Cayenne diesel

Porsche launches production of the Cayenne diesel originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Porsche, Legislation and Policy, UK

Earlier this year, a major storm was brewing in London as then-mayor Ken Livingstone was locked in a legal battle with Porsche over an increased Congestion Charge on its performance cars. After quite a bit of legal wrangling back and forth, Livingstone’s ejection in favor of new London mayor Boris Johnson and the roll-back of the C-Charge in general, Porsche came out the victor. We’re not really sure what to think about the issue, especially considering that each side had its own data suggesting that its stance would reduce carbon emissions. What’s more, both parties claimed to have the backing of the public majority. Such is the case whenever statistics are involved, right?

Porsche had previously said it would donate all of its winnings in the case to charity, and the German automaker has now followed through with the cause. A total of £375,000 has officially been donated to Skidz, a UK charity that seeks to train young people mechanical skills, at a ceremony held at a Porsche facility in London.

[Source: Carscoop]

Porsche donates Congestion Charge legal awards to charity originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Porsche, Tesla Motors

Uh oh. Rumors suggest that Porsche isn’t all that impressed with the all-electric lithium-ion powered 911 from longtime tuning company Ruf. Not that the German automaker is giving up on electric sportscars completely or anything… in fact it’s quite the opposite. Porsche is developing its own electric machine without the help of any outside companies, at least in the traditional sense. According to Tesla Motors, officials from Porsche have stopped by to take a good long look at the Roadster. It seems that they were interested enough to place an order for one of the $100K-plus electric sportscars, though Porsche will have to wait its turn just like everyone else that has put down their deposits. One can only assume that the car will be put through its paces, compared with models from the German automaker’s own stable and summarily taken apart bit by bit just to see how it all ticks. Sounds like we won’t be waiting too long for a Porsche versus Tesla run ’round the ‘Ring after all.

[Source: Inside Line]

Porsche places order for Tesla Roadster originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Diesel, Porsche, European Union, UK

Despite Porsche’s longtime reluctance to go diesel, environmental and economical pressures have finally made it impossible for Porsche to ignore the added efficiency that Rudolph′s old compression ignition engine design allows. Porsche still seems hesitant to proudly display its diesel engine as unique badges are conspicuously absent in the just-confirmed Cayenne Diesel. In any case, the 240 horsepower and wide torque plateau of 405 lb-ft seems fitting for the Cayenne, which already breaks Porsche’s tradition of sportscars in a big way. The six cylinder powerplant itself comes from Audi, displaces 3.0-liters, emits 244 g/km of CO₂ and manages about 25 miles per gallon (9.3L/km in Europe) of diesel fuel.

The new Cayenne diesel is scheduled to hit European dealerships in February of ‘09 and we’d be surprised if Porsche kept the TDI engine out of the States, especially if Mercedes continues to have successes with its BLUETEC line of ‘utes and Audi with its Q7 TDI. If that happens and the Cayenne TDI makes it to the U.S., the clean diesel engine would likely also join the BLUETECs in getting Federal tax breaks, which is nice.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Porsche officially announces diesel Cayenne for Europe

Porsche officially announces diesel Cayenne for Europe originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Ethanol, Porsche, AutoblogGreen Exclusive

From the company that brought you the Boxster, may we present you a car in a box: the 2008 Porsche RS Spyder was all caged up in a glass fence at the Porsche room at the LA Auto Show. Thankfully, cameras can shoot through Porsche’s defenses and so we can get a good view of the ethanol sticker on the rear.

On a more serious note, this is the race car that uses a direct injected version of the 3.4L V8 that puts out 385 Nm and 503 horsepower. The car won a LMP2 class race earlier this summer and the 12 Hours of Sebring, Porsche’s first outright win in two decades. And after all that, the car has to sit behind a glass wall.

LA 2008: Porsche RS Spyder all boxed up originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Porsche

Porsche has had its ups and downs when creating cars without using six-cylinder engines. We’ll leave the Cayenne and the upcoming Panamera out of the discussion for now, though those models are scheduled to get hybrid powertrains in addition to V6 and V8 power. Starting with its 356 model, along with its many racing variants, the automaker has amassed quite a history of successful boxer-style four-cylinder engines. That history book may well get a new chapter as the European Union continues to clamp down on carbon emissions and the United States government takes a hard line on fuel consumption.

Rumors indicate that the firm’s entry-level Boxster model may get a new four-cylinder engine in a bid to help improve the automaker’s overall eco-reputation. According to reports on Autocar, the new engine as installed in the next-gen Boxster will be the most economical Porsche ever. Currently, the smallest engine available in the Boxster is a six cylinder unit that displaces 2.7-liters and emits 222g/km of CO₂ into the air. Porsche can surely do better than that.

[Source: Autocar]

Porsche considers a return to four-cylinder engines originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Porsche, Paris Motor Show

The possible electric Porsche Cayman, the one-off conversion of the MIIN-AER, an old 911 EV conversion. There’s certainly no lack of people who like the looks of a Porsche but want to make the vehicle a lot clener. While there’s no official battery-powered EV coming from Porsche, the company is willing to offer us vehicles that have “More Power on Less Fuel.”

That’s the tagline for the latest release from the team from Stuttgart as they ready their vehicles for the Paris Motor Show. The highlight is Direct Fuel Injection across the entire range of 911 models, models that are suited for EU5 and LEV II emission standards. Details on the “more power” angle after the break. This isn’t the greenest car company around, but we’ll take their lowered emissions for now while we wait for them to change their piggish ways.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Paris Preview: Porsche promises “More Power on Less Fuel”

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: MPG, Porsche

From track to road and back to track again. That is the path for gasoline direct fuel injection. In the late 90s Audi added direct injection to its R8 Le Mans prototype in order to get more power while consuming less fuel. In racing reducing fuel consumption is important because it allows cars to run farther between pit stops spending more time on the track. Direct injection eventually migrated into most of Audi’s production engines along with those from parent company Volkswagen. After adding direct injection to the Cayenne GTS and 2009 911, Porsche is now migrating that same technology back to its own race program. The Porsche RS Spyders debuted a new direct injected version of the 3.4L V8 two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio and won the LM̢ class. The output of the DI engine went from 476 hp to 503 hp while fuel consumption dropped. Porsche is not saying how much it went down, but they are evidently still developing the system and optimizing it. For example the engines now run extremely lean under light loads greatly reducing consumption in a manner that would not be possible with a port fuel injection system. In coming years we will be seeing virtually all gas engines migrating to direct injection.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Porsche ALMS race engine to go direct injection

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Porsche, USA

Click above for more shots of this Porsche 911 EV conversion

Sometimes, we find various electric vehicle conversions on eBay to share with our readers. In many cases, the cars are in pretty sorry condition and the work which was done is highly suspect. In the case of this 1973 Porsche 911, though, everything done to the vehicle has been well documented in an online diary. There are also over forty pictures of the completed vehicle including every single dent and paint scratch. Most impressive. The EV conversion was officially started in late ‘93 and officially finished in late ‘96. Three years went into the removal of the engine and its related bits along with the addition of a DC electric motor along with 96 volts of lead-acid batteries. A bit later, the voltage was increased to 120, which yielded almost ten miles of range. Yeah… that’s bad.

The good news, if it could be called that, is that the brakes were and are dragging, which is not helping performance at all. With a little work and some new batteries, this Porsche EV could be back on the road and getting somebody to work. Take a look at all the pics in our gallery, read the entire diary here and see the car’s dedicated website here. Thanks for the tip, Dustin!

[Source: eBay Motors]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Porsche, Legislation and Policy, UK

The battle over a proposed £25 Congestion Charge increase that would have been socked to big, dirty vehicles entering London is over. Porsche was the lead opponent of this fee increase, and announced the win on its Judicial Review website. I guess Porsche’s huge PR campaign worked. Back when Ken Livingstone, who came up with the &pound25 congestion charge proposal, was still Mayor of London, the city announced that the majority was in favor of it. Porsche had other data.

The new mayor, Boris Johnson, was never in favor of the new C-Charge, so it’s not a huge surprise that it’s been scraped. He said he hopes the city will now institute a ‘fairer and more effective’ Congestion Charge. The agency responsible for the Congestion Charge, Transport for London, will now need to pay Porsche’s legal bills. Porsche has said it will donate the money to Skidz, an anti-crime charity. h/t to TheRookie.

[Source: Porsche, What Car?, Times Online]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Hybrid, Porsche, Green Daily

Porsche representatives were pro-hybrid at the recent LA Auto Show, promoting the message that the company’s hybrids will go 75 MPH on battery power alone. The news since then has been a little more tepid. Today, Automotive News (subs req’d) is saying that Porsche′s skepticism about hybrid sales means that the release of the Cayenne hybrid has been pushed back to 2010. One Porsche manager told ANE′s partner Automobilwoche that “Though there is still no decision on the planned introduction date of the hybrid version of our Cayenne SUV, I’m sure we′ll only introduce the new system with the start of the next SUV generation in 2010.” The possibility that Porsche hybrids in the U.S. is “also apparently smaller than initially thought,” ANE writer Henning Krogh says, so all of you waiting for a hybrid Panamera can keep on waiting until 2011 (at least).

Related:

• Bad idea: Porsche wants a pass on fuel economy rules

[Source: Henning Krogh / Automotive News Europe]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Hybrid, Porsche, Legislation and Policy

You might make a case that a car company that only sells a few hundred or even a few thousand vehicles in a 16-million-vehicle-a-year market doesn’t really make much of a dent in emissions or fuel consumption. This is particularly true if the cars they sell are high-performance models that typically only get driven a few thousand miles a year at most. This is the case for companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini that only sell about 5,000 cars a year worldwide with perhaps half of those in the United States. By comparison, Porsche sold over 34,000 vehicles in the US in 2006 and about 100,000 worldwide.

Is a company that builds 100,000 vehicles a year low volume? Porsche would have you think so. Currently car companies that build fewer than 10,000 vehicles per year are classed as low-volume and are exempted from paying fines for exceeding the corporate average fuel economy standards. Ferrari, Lotus and Lamborghini fall into this class. However a little-mentioned provision of the energy bill passed by the Senate last spring would change that hard 10,000 unit threshold to a variable 0.4 percent of US market share. At current market volumes that amounts to about 64,000 cars a year and it could be more if the market ever starts growing again. This would allow Porsche to save the $4.6 million in CAFE fines they paid last year. As with so many other things about CAFE, this is a bad idea. Leave the low-volume threshold where it is or even lower it. Sales of 64,000 vehicles a year may be small compared to GM or Toyota but those are the kind of volumes that will make a difference. Those that can afford sports cars and SUVs priced from $50,000-150,000 can afford to pony up a little more if the vehicles don’t meet the fuel economy threshold. Although Porsche may build higher performance vehicles than most companies, at their current volumes they should not be treated any differently from any other mainstream car-maker.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req’d]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, GM, GMC, Porsche, Volkswagen, LA Auto Show

Feel like you’re missing all the good stuff from LA? Perhaps some videos will ease the pain. The video above shows Porsche representatives at the 2007 LA Auto Show talking about hybrids. As we just reported, Porsche says their hybrids will go 75 MPH on battery power. Below the fold are two videos, including one that looks at the modern, clean design of the Volkswagen Space Up! concept. The second video is of GM’s green giant (ho, ho, ho!), the Chevy Silverado Hybrid. Stay tuned, as we have many more video round ups from the 2007 LA Auto Show on the way.

[Source: YouTube]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Filed under: Hybrid, Porsche, Green Daily

While we’ve been expecting a hybrid Porsche Panamera for a while now, Porsche today made it official that such a vehicle will indeed be coming. The hybrid powertrain in the Panamera will be the same full parallel system as is in the Cayenne hybrid, which should reduce fuel consumption by 30 percent. And let’s not forget that the Cayenne hybrid can go 75mph on battery power alone. The batteries in the Panamera will be below the luggage compartment. What’s real nice is that, depending on driving style, either the gasoline or electric motors can propel the SUV alone; alternately both can work together for “fuel savings in both city and highway driving and maximum performance when desired.” The Panamera will be unveiled in 2009, and the hybrid version will follow the gas-only model to the showrooms at a date yet to be specified.

[Source: Porsche via Autobog]

PRESS RELEASE

PORSCHE(R) RELEASES MORE DETAILS ON PANAMERA[TM]

Ground breaking four-door GT to be offered with Porsche hybrid system– ATLANTA, January 7th, 2008 - Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, announced today that it is developing a hybrid drive version of its highly anticipated four-door Gran Turismo. The Panamera Hybrid will utilize the same gas-electric drive concept as the Cayenne Hybrid that comes to market at the end of the decade and will claim a remarkable 30% reduction of fuel consumption. The full parallel hybrid system of the Panamera will be configured with the battery unit positioned below the luggage compartment, and hybrid module, comprising of an additional clutch and electric motor, will be between the engine and transmission. Depending on driving conditions, the hybrid module has the ability to disengage either the combustion engine or the electric motor, or to combine both drive systems as one joint power unit. This flexibility results in benefits such as a zero emissions driving mode, fuel savings in both city and highway driving and maximum performance when desired.

The Panamera, which represents Porsche’s fourth model line, will make its world debut in 2009 and promises to redefine the Gran Turismo category by featuring a unique design package that will afford equally generous front and rear space and seating comfort for four while retaining the sporting and unmistakable driving dynamics of every Porsche. Introduced initially with traditional drivetrains, the hybrid version of the Panamera will be offered at a later date.

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, GA, and its subsidiary, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., are the exclusive importers of Porsche sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles for the United States and Canada. A wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing.h.c. F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs approximately 250 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 212 U.S. and Canadian dealers. They, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco