Porsche Cayenne 2007 News

Porsche’s next generation four wheel drive flagship due in 2017 will take advantage of weight savings and safety gains from a new platform while gaining new styling inspired on Porsche’s entry level SUV.The new MLB platform is shared with Audi’s upcoming Q7, Lamborghini’s and Bentley’s planned four wheel drives and the next generation Volkswagen Touareg. The modular architecture will allow weight savings of more than 100kg. An increase in torsional rigidity and safety is also expected. Importantly, the modular structure will keep costs down by spreading development costs across a large number of models in VW Group’s portfolio.Stylistically, Porsche’s familiar DNA continues, with wide wheel arches and oval headlamps. But the new look Cayenne will borrow its smaller sibling’s cues, with a clam shell bonnet and rising creased shoulder line running the length of the sides.Engines are likely to be revised versions of the current power plants, raising the output from 221kW V6, 294kW V8 in the Cayenne S, and flagship V8 Cayenne Turbo delivering a stonking 368kW. Carry over V6 Diesel with 179kW, and 279kW V6 petrol-electric hybrid power plants are also expected to continue. But those who don’t want to wait until 2017 for a new Cayenne will be happy to hear that next year we’ll see a facelift of the current model, intended to keep the SUV looking fresh until the next generation arrives.

The ocean is full of surprises, and some Chinese fishermen got a huge one when they found a Porsche in their nets.  The Cayenne SUV – which sells from around $110,000 here – was landed while the crew was recently fishing off the Coast of Beihai. The Cayenne was covered in seaweed and barnacles, with its state pointing to it having been underwater for at least two years according to experts called in to assess it. Reports on CarNewsChina.com suggest that the waters and coastal areas around Beihai are a hotspot for smugglers bringing in luxury goods to escape the huge import tariffs China imposes. It’s believed the smuggler possibly pushed the Porsche overboard after spotting a customs patrol.  The vehicle, which would have netted the smuggler a sizable profit, sold to a Beihai scrap metal dealer for 4000 yuan ($650).  

Sometime in the near future Porsche will be introducing a mid-cycle update to its Cayenne, with the updated SUV most likely being introduced for the 2015 model year. The update will include the typical retouches to the bumpers and lights, as well as some technical changes, the most significant of which will reportedly be a new plug-in hybrid option. We’ve previously told you that the Cayenne, as well as the Panamera, will be receiving a plug-in hybrid option at some point. But now it's tipped that the option will be introduced in calendar year 2014 along with the SUV’s mid-cycle update. The Panamera is expected to soon follow with a plug-in hybrid option, though its system will be used to power only the rear wheels while the Cayenne will stick with all-wheel drive Porsche will be calling its plug-in hybrid system an ‘e-hybrid,’ and a preview of the technology was recently showcased in the Panamera Sport Turismo concept at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. Porsche’s e-hybrid system is an advanced development of the parallel full hybrid the automaker already implements today in the Cayenne S Hybrid and Panamera S Hybrid models. The e-hybrid’s electric motor currently produces about 69 kilowatts, and is matched to a supercharged 3.0-litre V-6 engine producing 245 kilowatts on its own. Working together, the two power sources can accelerate a vehicle the size of the Cayenne in around 9.5 seconds km/h or less. Motor Authority  

The hybrid S will cost $159,900, putting it in the middle of the five-model Cayenne lineup. The newcomer has about more standard equipment, worth about $12,000, sportier performance than before and fuel saving reductions of up to 23 per cent. It is powered by a supercharged 245kW 3.0-litre V6 and a 34kW electric motor with a combined torque output of 580Nm from 1000 revs. It uses just 8.2 litres/100km, has CO2 emissions of 193 g/km and can be driven for short distances at speeds up to 60km/h on electric power only. Porsche Cars Australia spokesman, Paul Ellis, expects strong interest in the green wagon. "But it's a completely new area for us," Ellis says. "We've never had a hybrid performance car before." However, he is confident that up to 15 per cent of all Cayennes sold here will be hybrid. "Our customers are waiting to see and drive this new technology," he says. The Cayenne traditionally makes up between 35 per cent and 45 per cent of total Porsche sales locally. "I'd expect this figure to carry over to the new car," Ellis says. "However, prices have risen only marginally and we're putting more equipment into the cars. This could mean exceptionally strong sales for the first year." Cayenne prices have gone up 1 per cent, ranging between $1500 and $2700 depending on the model. The lineup will open with the V8 Cayenne S, the V6 Cayenne S Hybrid and twin-turbocharged V8 Cayenne Turbo. A V6 petrol and V6 turbo-diesel arrive in August to complete the five-model line-up. The range gets a new eight-speed tiptronic gearbox, extra-light all-wheel drive system and a weight reduction of up to 180kg, depending on the model. PricesCayenne V6 petrol $103,500Cayenne V6 diesel $104,500Cayenne S $147,900Cayenne S Hybrid $159,900Cayenne Turbo $239,900

The biggest and ugliest Porsche is about to get two new reincarnations, including a hybrid version which is claimed to run on less than nine litres of fuel per 100km.It will bring the number of these beasts available in Australia to four, joining the V6, V8 and V8 Turbo models. There are some notable differences to the new addition, with improvements all round. First, it has a slightly more powerful V8 engine, as well as exterior enhancements and a sportier performance.The 4.2-litre V8 has an extra 15kW over the current Cayenne S engine, which increases its performance to 298kW at 6500rpm. The torque is unchanged at 500Nm from 3500rpm.While based on the Cayenne S, the new GTS version has undergone some styling changes and is distinguished from the other models by its 21-inch alloy wheels, two new exterior colours, and its lower ride height, which has been reduced by 24mm. It also features some styling from the Turbo model at the front and rear, as well as newly developed 12-way sport seats.Porsche claims the special model has slightly faster acceleration than the Cayenne S, which does the 0 to 100km/h dash in 6.6 seconds.The GTS is said to complete the same task in the mid six-second mark. The new model will come standard with a six-speed Tiptronic S transmission, air suspension and the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). Pricing for the Australian market will not be revealed until closer to launch date.Like many large SUVs and the other Cayenne models, the GTS has a fairly high combined claimed fuel consumption of 13.9 litres per 100km, slightly higher than the 13.7 litres per 100km the Cayenne S produces. But those after a less thirsty Cayenne don't have to wait too much longer, about three years to be precise.Porsche is jumping on the hybrid trend, recently announcing it will introduce a hybrid version of the SUV, which is expected to be revealed to the public in 2010.The more environmentally-friendly large Porsche will be based on the Cayenne's direct fuel injection 3.6-litre V6 engine, and will also feature an electric motor.Porsche is aiming to make the new version of the SUV 25 per cent more fuel efficient. Prototypes are already being tested on the road overseas and are recording fuel consumption figures as low as 9.8 litres per 100km.But Porsche is hoping to go even lower, aiming for about 8.9 litres per 100km by the time the hybrid hits the market at the end of this decade.That's more in line with a medium-to-large car than a giant SUV.The fuel efficient Cayenne will feature electric-powered steering, airconditioning and vacuum pumps for the brakes.And it's not the only hybrid Porsche has on the drawing board.It's believed the company is also planning to develop a hybrid version of the new Panamera four-door Gran Turismo, which is expected in 2009. 

The German company will offer a 3.6-litre V6 hybrid version of its Cayenne SUV by the end of this decade, claiming to cut CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by at least 25 per cent.To be called Cayenne Hybrid, this new petrol-electric model will feature a parallel full hybrid system where the hybrid's clutch and electric motor are positioned in line between the conventional petrol engine and transmission.Porsche has been struggling to meet strict coming European emissions regulations because of its fleet of high-performance vehicles, but the hybrid Cayenne should help meet these targets.Prototypes have achieved fuel economy of 9.8 litres/100km in New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) testing, with Porsche hoping eventually to reduce fuel consumption to 8.9L/100km by the time the Cayenne Hybrid goes on sale.The current Cayenne with Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) 3.6-litre V6 engine returns 12.9L/100km on the NEDC cycle.Porsche favours the parallel full hybrid system instead of the branched or split hybrid concepts used by other manufacturers.It claims the parallel system has superior packaging, improved acceleration and engine flexibility, as well as compatibility to the existing Cayenne platform.Co-ordinating the car's three main components the combustion engine, the electric motor and the battery is the Hybrid Manager, the heart of the Cayenne Hybrid.It oversees some 20,000 data parameters compared with about 6000 data parameters for a conventional engine.Porsche claims it is one of the most powerful technologies found in any hybrid vehicle.Other features of the Cayenne Hybrid designed to decrease fuel consumption include electric power operation of the airconditioning, power steering and the vacuum pump for the brakes.Technical components, such as the oil pump in the Cayenne's automatic transmission, have been replaced by electrically powered units.Porsche plans to introduce similar hybrid technology in a version of its Panamera four-door “coupe”. The Panamera will debut in 2009, with a hybrid to follow later. 

The car industry uses a web of alliances to survive.Lust, affairs, one-night stands, engagements, marriages and divorces — it can be hard sharing your love. It can also be expensive, especially if the human analogy is applied to the car business.DaimlerChrysler's recent divorce cost the now-solo Daimler AG a cool $33 billion.Daimler and its former partner, now known by her maiden name of Chrysler Group, still share the kids.These include shared components and manufacturing, including the Chrysler Crossfire (based on the previous Mercedes-Benz SLK) and Jeep Grand Cherokee, which uses Mercedes' V6 diesel engine and transmission.Daimler-Benz and Chrysler courted in the late 1990s, sealing their association in 1998 with a new name, DaimlerChrysler.The marriage was mutually beneficial. Daimler gained economies of scale and a new customer for engines, transmissions and an outlet for its old platforms. The previous Mercedes E-Class shares the same platform as the Chrysler 300C.Chrysler gained unprecedented, cost-effective access to the drivetrains used to power its distinctively styled cars.Of the divorce, shareholders of Daimler- Chrysler spitefully said “I knew it wouldn't work”.Marriages may be difficult, but alliances are what keep many car companies afloat.All these inter-relationships are spurred by one goal — profit. So competitive is the car industry that every dollar counts.Making cars cheaper improves profits, even if that means relocating factories to countries with low labour costs, non-existent unions and tax-free government incentives.Few would know that 10 models on the Australian market are made in Thailand. South Africa makes five, there's one from the Czech Republic, three from Slovakia, one from Poland, four from Malaysia and one from Indonesia.Build quality in most cases is as good as you'd expect from a country-of-origin factory.The biggest difference is manufacturing costs. Building a Volkswagen Golf in Germany, for example, costs substantially more than building the same car in South Africa. Sharing components such as engines, transmissions, platforms and bodies with a rival company — or at least one perceived as being a rival — is big business.The platform of the Mazda3 is similar to the Volvo S40 and Ford Focus. Ford has a big chunk of Mazda's shares and owns Volvo outright.The Toyota Aygo, a one-litre hatch soon to be sold in Australia, is built in the Czech Republic with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. The only differences are interior trim, grilles, head and tail lights. Everything else, except the badge, is identical.General Motors has a giant web of ownership, component sharing and minor shareholdings. It owns Saab and Hummer, and rebadges cars including the Daewoo Matiz as Chevrolets.GM owned 20 per cent of Fiat until it dissolved the relationship in 2005. But retains component sharing deals and owns 50 per cent of Fiat's JTD diesel engine technology.GM also has 3 per cent of Suzuki (it had 20 per cent until selling down in March 2006) and 7.9 per cent of Isuzu.This relationship crosses with Fiat. Suzuki buys Fiat diesel engines for its European cars but also buys diesels from the PSA group (owner of Peugeot and Citroen) and Renault. Fiat this year will also supply diesel engine's to Saab.The Suzuki Splash, to be launched in Europe later this year is based on the Swift/SX4 platform, but will be rebadged the Opel/Vauxhall Agila for European sales.Fiat sells the Suzuki SX4 as the Sedici in Europe.Suzuki also owns 11 per cent of GM-DAT, the Korean-based company that makes the Holden Epica, Captiva, Viva and Barina.GM sold its 20 per cent of Subaru parent, Fuji Heavy Industries, in 2005. Fuji bought back most of the shares, though Toyota bought in and now owns 8.7 per cent of the company.Toyota also owns Daihatsu and has a big stake in Yamaha. Yamaha has an engineering alliance with Toyota — twin-cam engine and multi-valve heads included — and recently created the V8 engine for Ford-owned Volvo.GM also gets its Saab plant in Sweden to make the Cadillac BLS mid-size car, alongside its Saab 9-3 and 9-5.The Hyundai Sonata's 2.4-litre engine is shared with the Jeep Compass, Dodge Caliber, Chrysler Sebring and Mitsubishi Outlander.Renault has an alliance with Nissan and owns Samsung (Korea) and has a joint venture with Mahindra (India).Porsche's Cayenne SUV is built in Volkswagen's factory in Slovakia alongside the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. Porsche's Cayman is built in Finland. That's just the tip of iceberg.Peyton Place has nothing on these guys. 

"The interest in the V6 has been far higher than any expectations we had," Porsche Cars Australia boss Michael Winkler said at the launch of the second-generation Cayenne."I expect V6 sales to be around 30 per cent of all Cayenne sales, or about 150-200 a year."Despite the importance of the V6 none were available to touch or drive at the Australian model launch last week.The official word from PCA was that while customer cars were being delivered to dealers, the test fleet meanwhile could not be prepared in time for the launch.Porsche Australia is also concerned that the strong interest in the V6 will overshadow upgrades to the rest of its range."We wanted to demonstrate the upgrades that the new car has compared with the old model and the way to do that is with ... models that everyone is familiar with, rather than risk confusion and turning it into a six-cylinder launch," Winkler says.For the past couple of years, Porsche Australia has ignored the 3.2-litre V6 model that was available in other markets, concentrating instead on the naturally aspirated and turbocharged V8 models."We held off the previous V6 because by the time it became available in right-hand drive it would have been only 18 months from this model," Winkler says. "We felt that would have been the wrong time (to introduce it)."He believes the availability of the V6 won't diminish the exclusivity of the Porsche brand with annual sales of all models to remain pegged around 1500 cars."We are not looking for record sales but are comfortable with stabilising our business where it is — 1200-1500 cars in a market of potentially one million is exclusive."The V6 Cayenne will sit at the bottom of a three-model range starting at $94,700.The first of the V8 models, the Cayenne S, is $134,500 with the Turbo topping the range at $215,200. Despite the $94,700 sticker price, nobody at Porsche is expecting the V6 — which is powered by a VW family-sourced 213kW, 3.6-litre engine — to leave the showrooms at anywhere near that price."Experience tells us most owners will add accessories to personalise their new cars and with on-road costs, most V6 sales are going to be in the region of $120,000," Winkler says.The Cayenne's styling has been freshened across the range, with new front and bonnet panels, rear styling and light clusters, and with the engines revised for greater power and better fuel economy — and pricing increased by about 5 per cent.The Cayenne S is up by $4600 to $134,500 and the Turbo rises by $8100 to $215,200.A six-speed automatic is standard across the range, with an optional (no cost) six-speed manual available for the V6 and the S.What the V6 misses out on in standard equipment is considerable — if expected at the price — but almost all of that can be remedied through the options list.There is no air-suspension but that, along with the clever active suspension system (Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control), can be added for a total of $14,240.The V6 also deletes the 6.5-inch centre console screen and satellite navigation system with the communication package ($7250), multi-function steering wheel ($1180) and a premium Bose CD sound system ($2790). It also runs on 17-inch wheels as standard, while the S and Turbo come with 18-inch rims.New to all three models in the expanded safety package is a rollover sensor which will deploy the curtain airbags ahead of the accident. Stability control and six airbags are also standard. Work under the bonnet for the V8s is considerable. The S engine has had a capacity increase to 4.8-litres and uses variable valve timing and lift on the intake side, boosting power by 33kW to 283kW and torque by 80Nm to 500Nm. Bolt on a pair of turbos and the 4.8 V8 becomes a very serious weapon indeed — with 368kW and 700Nm of urge just waiting for the call.While the S returns a claimed combined fuel figure of 13.7L/100km and a 0-100km/h time of 6.8s, the Turbo's ability to put the same sprint behind in a sportscar-like 5.1 seconds comes at a cost. Claimed fuel economy is 14.9L/100km on combined cycle but you won't see those figures if the car is driven in the manner it demands and deserves.One option that should be compulsory on the shopping list across the range is the rear-view camera, even at a hefty $3590. As with all Porsches worth their badge, it's only behind the wheel that the pain in your wallet eases.All the test cars at the launch were fitted with the optional Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control system ... with good reason.As good as the basic Porsche air-suspension is it becomes superb in association with PDCC. Handling here is superb.

The Cayenne V6-powered SUV is on sale now for $97,400.According to Porsche press relations manager Paul Ellis it is the first Porsche under $100,000 for about 20 years and the cheapest in real terms in the company's modern history.However, the vehicle which is tipped to be its most successful was not available to drive at the national launch in the Victorian Alps last week.Ellis said some were in the country for sale, but none was available for the press launch.It seems Porsche in Germany demands they run in press cars before they are released and with limited time available only the Cayenne S ($134,500) and top-of-the-range Cayenne Turbo ($215,200) were chosen for the launch.Ellis said the press vehicles had to be especially flown out for the launch."We have nothing to hide in the V6," Ellis said. "A lot of the marketing will revolve around the V6."Porsche Australia managing director Michael Winkler said they chose the high performance models so it wouldn't "confuse" the press.While the Cayenne S has 283kW of power and the Turbo has 368kW, the V6, called simply the Cayenne, delivers 213kW and weighs 2160kg, which means a power-to-weight ratio of 10.1kg/kW. This compares with the low-output V6 Holden Commodore which has figures of 186kW, 1570kg and 8.4kg/kW.Winkler admitted the V6 Cayenne would be slower than a Commodore but said it would be faster than its competitors.He said the V6 Cayenne had created a lot of interest among customers, especially since it looked almost identical to the Cayenne S.He said supply would be controlled so the V6 did not represent more than 30 per cent of all Cayenne sales, or 150. Cayenne S would be about 50 per cent or 220 and Turbo 20 per cent or 90, he said. Porsche expects SUV sales to reach 460 this year. When released here in 2003, Cayenne was the most popular Porsche, selling 442, compared with 417 911s and 328 Boxsters and Caymans.In its first full year of sales in 2004, it sold 562, compared with 380 for the 911 and 322 for Boxster and Cayman.However, 911 has since climbed back to the top with sales of Cayenne down to 414 in 2005 and 332 last year."We're not interested in setting sales records," Winkler said."We want to remain an exclusive brand and maintain resale value which leads to buyers coming back."Winkler said in the US, customers optioned up the V6 much more than V8 which meant that instead of a 25 per cent price difference it was about eight per cent."I`m not sure if that will happen here." he said.