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 V6 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]

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]