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.

[Source: The Detroit News]

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).

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

[Source: Henning Krogh / Automotive News Europe]

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]

German sports car maker Porsche has been complaining bitterly about the proposed European Union carbon dioxide emissions standards for cars. After all, Porsche exclusively builds high-powered sports cars and overweight SUVs. However none of that means that Porsche is sitting on their hands while new rules are being debated. For some time now they have been working on a parallel hybrid power-train for the Cayenne SUV that will also go into its platform mates the VW Touareg and Audi Q7 as well as the upcoming Panamera sedan. Porsche demonstrated the Cayenne Hybrid to some European press this summer, but we'll be getting our look at it this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Stay tuned for more on this one.

[Source: German Car Scene]

We've been all over the news of Porsche's upcoming hybrid models, which most insiders expect to include the Cayenne SUV and the upcoming Panamera sedan and the possible GT coupe which would be based on the same underpinnings. The Porsche hybrid system lodges an electric motor offering over 35 additional horsepower and a good deal extra torque between the engine and the transmission. The added power from the motor will go through the same exact driveline that the internal combustion engine's does, which is different than most other hybrid systems. This article from Gizmag indicates that the Panamera hybrid will likely be the world's fastest hybrid, for whatever that is worth. One wonders, though, if the top speed will decrease as the battery drains, or if the system will be designed to provide adequate power to the motor under those circumstances. I would hope that it would not, actually, because the power used to spin the electric motor would be better used to move the vehicle after losses are considered. Oh well, I guess we'll see when it shows up.

Once again, news of the Porsche hybrid systems brings up the question of whether it is a good use of money and technology to use hybrid systems for their added performance potential. On one hand, the answer could be no - isn't it a better use of the limited number of batteries and the assorted components of a hybrid on vehicles that will be driven more and use less petroleum in the process? The other side responds that Porsche demands performance no matter the cost, which also is true. Oh well, perhaps the more hybrids there are, the less they will cost in the end.

[Source: Gizmag]

It looks as though Porsche is planning on leveraging their new controlling interest in Volkswagen to help them add some efficiency to their high performance vehicles. While Porsche had previously indicated that they would never put a diesel engine in any of their vehicles, they now seem to be reversing course. It looks like the image of diesels as performance engines is changing perhaps in large part due to the success of the Audi R10 racers.

It appears that Porsche have accepted the inevitability of new EU carbon dioxide restrictions and are now moving forward with development of the changes necessary to meet those requirements. Porsche has already acknowledged that the Cayenne and the Panamera would be getting hybrid drivetrains and now oil-burners like the V12 from the top end Audi Q7 could be in the cards as well.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

We have already passed along news of the impending hybrid drivetrain that will appear on versions of the Porsche Cayenne, and now we hear word that they may show up on the upcoming Porsche Panamera as well. This is logical, as the drivetrain options in the Panamera are expected to mirror those of the Cayenne and both vehicles will be built at the same plant. Details include a 3.6 liter narrow angle V6 engine sourced from Volkswagen and lithium ion batteries providing the juice for the packaged electric motor(s). Development for the Panamera has been done with assistance from Audi and Volkswagen, so it would not be much of a surprise if we hear the similar hybrid powertrains start the trickle down the range to other models from these three manufacturers. Of course, we will keep you informed with the news.

Click here to see the initial coverage from Autoweek (registration required) and here for the posting on Autoblog.

[Source: Autoweek via Autoblog]

There have been various rumors floating around about alternative power-trains that Porsche was looking at installing in the Cayenne SUV and potentially other models. Now Porsche has put a stop to at least one rumor. They have decided that they definitely will not be putting diesel engines in any of their vehicles. Porsche is trying to develop drivetrains that will allow them to meet new EU carbon dioxide emissions standards of 120g/km.

Porsche claims they have ruled out diesels because even though they are more efficient, they emit more NOx and particulates and are therefore no better than gas engines overall. With new clean diesel technologies this seems like a dubious argument and more likely they just don't think that a diesel would fit the character of a Porsche. Of course the Cayenne doesn't really fit the character of a Porsche either, but that's another story. Instead Porsche will develop a 15 percent more efficient engine for the next generation Cayenne and is also developing hybrid technology, probably in cooperation with VW with whom they share the Cayenne platform for the Toureg and Q7.

[Source: Just-Auto - subscription required]