Porsche just showed off the Cayenne S hybrid to media in Los Angeles after putting the diesel Cayenne on sale in Europe at the beginning of this year. Another departure from Porsche's race car image is the 4-door Panamera sedan that hits U.S. showrooms on Oct. 17.
Dr. Michael Leiters, project manager for the Cayenne says though it can be put into any vehicle "hybrid is still a niche technology, out of the total passenger car market, hybrid is about 2%". He says the Cayenne S hybrid will come to market next year and expects 5 to 10% of global Cayenne sales to be the hybrid model.
Porsche with Volkswagen developed a parallel hybrid system with the electric and combustion engines on the same shaft. As you would imagine, Porsche's hybrid technology has some unique features like using a dual dry plate clutch to disengage the electric and gas motors from the drive shaft in 200 to 300 milliseconds. A technology currently in use at Porsche is the start-stop which shuts off the engine in long periods of idling then quickly re-starts when power is needed.
Porsche took the Audi S4 333-horsepower 3.0-liter Direct Fuel Injected V6 for their hybrid because of its high torque-low rev behavior. The Cayenne S hybrid goes up to 32 miles per hour in electric mode and can coast or "sail" up to 86 miles an hour while going downhill. The 38 kilowatt electric motor runs off nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries made by Sanyo. Leiters claims that "the Cayenne hybrid S accelerates like a V8 and gets better fuel consumption than a V6". Porsche engineers are targeting more than 24 miles-per-gallon for the Cayenne S hybrid.
The hybrid is best for urban use where speeds are frequently less than 30 miles an hour for electric motor use while diesels are most suitable for long driving. As for diesel in the U.S., Porsche says the premium manufacturers are paving the way, like VW's success with the TDI but a media and customer push is needed for it to really catch on and dispel myths that the new diesels are just like the polluters of the past. As for the Porsche diesel, it drove smoothly and was impressive and just needs the "clean" or Blue technology to be added so it can be sold in the U.S. and specifically California.
According to a recent study that forecasts hybrid vehicle growth outpacing diesel, Porsche may have greater success with hybrid in the U.S. than diesel. With diesel, hybrid and a 4-door performance sedan, Porsche is speeding past many competitors in multiple lanes.
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