Hybrid Porshe on the Horizon

According to a report from Auto briefs in the Friday edition of the Detroit News (page 4C). Porsche is currently developing a new prototype SUV hybrid based on the hot-selling Cayenne. They claim that it will be capable of cruising at speeds up to 70 miles an hour on the electric engine alone. That is faster than any hybrid currently selling on the market today according to CNN Money (CNN Money (http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/24/autos/porsche_hybrid/index.htm).

The non-hybrid Porsche Cayenne.

They foresee the hybrid version of Cayenne to be on showroom floors within the next two or three years as per the article. The SUV will not be able to reach 70 miles per hour without the traditional engine like some of the smaller hybrid cars. However once it accelerates to a cruising speed of 70 it won’t need for it’s gasoline engine. At that point the electric motor will sufficiently propel the vehicle to cruise at that speed. The CNN article also states that the end product is an SUV that is said to be “25 percent more efficient than current models and can cruise considerably faster than the current 40 mph top cruising speed of the hybrid Toyota Camry.”

“If Porsche was going to do a hybrid, it makes sense to do it from a performance standpoint,” said company spokesman Tony Fouladpour according to the CNN article. This is the first Hybrid hailing from the pure performance-minded niche automaker. It seems they are following in the footsteps of luxury carmaker Lexus. They currently have 3 models that have hybrid technology. Although Lexus uses it for boosting the performance of their vehicles, this in turn makes a V-8 engine as powerful as a V-12.

Porshe is sticking close to their hedgehog (and heritage) and pursuing this from a performance first direction. Needless to say I am happy that another automaker is taking a step towards becoming greener while not abandoning who they are. It’s expected to be in the same general price range as the basic Cayenne, which starts at $44,000.

www.detnews.com

www.cnnmoney.com