Porsche Cayenne 2009 News

In a swiftly changing motoring environment carmakers are searching for new ways to cut fuel use and emissions and improve efficiency.Among the hundreds of concepts and new and updated models on display at the Paris motor show over the next 15 days are some definite standouts. Renault has combined gull-wing doors, comfort, refinement and a slippery design with a hybrid diesel engine and plonked it all on massive 23-inch wheels in its range-topping Ondelios concept car (cover picture).It's 4.8m long and has a hybrid 150kW version of the 2.0-litre dCi engine.There are also two 20kW electric motors at the front and rear to provide extra boost recovered during braking.Mercedes is unveiling one of the world's fastest cabriolets. The SLR McLaren Roadster 722S has 478kW of power and accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds before reaching a top speed of 335km/h.Just 150 of the two-seater supercars will be built. It complements Mercedes' other show star the ConceptFascination, a wild two-door sportswagon. It's a modern version of the old British “shooting-brake” where a wagon tail has been planted on a sporty saloon.Citroen's crossover concept, Hypnos, hasa 150kW engine that boasts miserly fuel efficiency figures of 4.5-litres per 100km.However, it what's inside that is different. An extremely colourful rainbow light show highlights its sleek styling.Honda is using the Paris show to highlight its green commitment. Star of its stand is the new Insight Concept, a dedicated petrol-electric hybrid car in the vein of Toyota's Prius.It is expected to go into production within the next few years.From the US, GM will debut a close to production version of its revolutionary Volt electric car. Chevrolet is showing its new crucial small car the Cruze, plus its first seven-seat multi-purpose family car, the Orlando show car.A form of SUV-family van and wagon crossover, it has a 2.0-litre diesel engine.Alfa Romeo is unveiling its little MiTo compact which is due to come to Australian the middle of next year.Fiat is showing the MiTo's likely competitor in the super-mini category, the 120kW 500 Abarth EsseEsse (SS) plus its PUR-O2 eco-range of cleaner, greener 500s. New technology includes the ability for the engine to turn itself off while idling and back on to continue driving.Mini will show its all-wheel-drive Crossover Concept, while BMW will premiere its X1 wagon. The Mini is intended for adventurous twenty-somethings, while the Concept X1 will go into production as a safe, practical family car.Chasing a similar small, sporty car market is Audi with its new A1. The near-production version will be a feature of its stand.Saab is exhibiting its 9-X Air concept car, while Volvo is debuting its production-ready ultra-safe XC60 crossover which is headed for Australia.Porsche has several new models in the911 range plus the go-anywhere Cayenne S Transsyberia super-4WD.Mazda's all-new Kiyora urban compact four-cylinder concept car will sit alongside the world debut of production cars, the new generation MX-5, the Mazda6 with a 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine and the Mazda2 1.6-litre diesel.Lamborghini has joined the rush to GT supercars with its four-door Estoque concept.Like Porsche's Panamera, Maserati's Quattroporte and Aston Martin's upcoming four-seater, the Estoque, brings a new versatility to one of the world's most uncompromising sports marques.Lamborghini stresses that although there are no production plans for the AWD Estoque it has been developed as fully production capable.Toyota has three world premiere vehicles ranging from its little four-seater city car, the iQ, to the all-new Avensis sedan and wagon and the 1.4-litre diesel-engined Urban Cruiser All Wheel Drive.Ford is debuting the all-new Ka city car with a choice of 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litrediesel engines, the hot Focus RS and the new economic Fiesta.Volkswagen will show off its latest Golf GTi. The hot hatch for 2009 is cleaner, smoother and much more refined than earlier cars.It will still come with a 155kW turbo petrol engine and the promise of a 7.2-second sprint to 100km/h, but is missing the wild body bits of earlier GTi road runners.Nissan's debuting Nuvu concept is just three-metres long. It only has two normal seats plus a third that folds down for luggage and groceries. The city car has solar panels on the glass roof.Ferrari will debut its chic two-seater V8 California sports car.From Korea will come Hyundai's i20 small car and a 2.4-litre engined hybrid SUV.Kia is showing its Soul range of urban crossover concepts that come with either petrol or diesel engines. There's also a hybrid version. Additional reporting by Kevin Hepworth and Paul Gover. 

Diesel has no future with Porsche. The German sports-car giant has ruled out the possibility of using diesel engines, but has given a big tick of approval to a hybrid.The head of vehicle testing and quality at Porsche, Benno Brandlhuber, says a diesel simply doesn't fit the Porsche DNA, but the hybrid is a perfect match.It will have a hybrid Cayenne in the line-up by 2009 and it is being considered for sales here late that year or early 2010."The diesel is heavier than a petrol engine and that extra weight goes on the front of the vehicle, which affects the dynamics in a way that compromises the Porsche driving experience," Brandlhuber says, speaking in Australia at a preview of the updated Cayenne four-wheel-drive wagon."It also doesn't have the performance at high revs like the petrol engine, which is so much a part of the Porsche brand."Nobody knows what the future will bring. In 15 or 20 years we might have another situation. But we have made the decision right now that the diesel is not for us."Having ruled out the diesel engine, Brandlhuber says the hybrid is a confirmed part of Porsche's future."The hybrid is an interesting concept for us," he says. "We know that in big cities we can achieve a fuel consumption saving of up to 20 per cent and still have the performance that is so important to the Porsche brand."When you have the electric motor and the normal engine working together you have a huge acceleration capacity and that fits perfectly with the Porsche DNA."The demand for a more environmentally friendly 4WD is coming mostly from America, which is one of the most important markets for the German carmaker and helps explain its interest in hybrid technology.Porsche has been working closely with Volkswagen and Audi on hybrid technology and has a petrol-electric hybrid Cayenne under development and a production introduction date of 2009.The green Cayenne will use a parallel combination of an electric motor and a V6 petrol engine. The batteries for the electric motor will be placed in the Cayenne's chassis.L IKE the diesel Porsche has rejected, the hybrid is heavier than a regular petrol-fuelled vehicle, mostly because of the bank of batteries it has to carry.According to Brandlhuber, the batteries add about 150kg to a regular Cayenne V6 but, unlike the diesel, the weight can be distributed around the vehicle to minimise its effect on dynamics. In the case of the Cayenne, Brandlhuber and his engineering team are working to place the batteries in a way that gets the weight as low as possible and spread around the vehicle.Porsche Cars Australia managing director Michael Winkler confirms the hybrid Cayenne will be considered for Australia.