Porsche Opts For Suv Oiler
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday November 26, 2008
NOT all that long ago high-end German car maker Porsche declared there would be no diesel engine option for its Cayenne sports utility vehicle, because that was not what Porsche buyers wanted.
The Cayenne, the company said, would sport a high-tech hybrid variant.But times change, and in February next year Porsche will have a diesel-engined Cayenne on the road in Europe, powered by the same 3.0 litre V6 used by Audi for its Q7 and Volkswagen for its Touareg.Tuned to deliver 176 kilowatts and 550 Newton metres (five kilowatts and 50 Newton metres more than it does in the Audi application) the engine is claimed to deliver a 9.3 litres/100km fuel consumption average and emit 244 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.The hybrid-drive Cayenne is still under development but Porsche says it is expecting fuel consumption figures about 9.1 litres/100km or better. That variant is expected to be launched some time in 2010.As far as diesel Porsches go, the 3.0 litre Cayenne seems to be "it", with Porsche making no mention of adopting Audi's 4.2 litre turbo-diesel or, for that matter, Volkswagen's 5.0 litre, 258 kilowatt V10 turbo-diesel.Porsche Cars Australia says the diesel Cayenne should be available locally in April next year.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald