...A Porsche diesel ,a 4 door Porsche and an electric one to
Porsche Cayenne
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By ARJEN BONGARD, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE
Porsche will introduce a diesel-powered car by the middle of 2009, an industry newsletter said.
The German sports car maker will take the diesel engine--most likely for its Cayenne premium SUV--directly from Volkswagen, thereby saving substantial development costs. Porsche controls 31 percent of VW shares and has an option to raise its shareholding further.
The AID newsletter, citing Porsche sources, said Porsche executives have overcome their long-time reservations about diesel engines.
Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking has said repeatedly that the company constantly evaluates the commercial feasibility of putting a diesel engine in one or more of its models. Last year, he told Automotive News Europe that because of the additional costs and relatively low sales volume of Porsche cars, he didn’t think such a move would make sense.
A Porsche spokesman said Friday that the issue remains under discussion internally. Porsche sources said no decision has been made.
Porsche, which currently uses only gasoline engines, has decided to introduce a hybrid version of the Cayenne in 2010, AID said. Whether hybrids will power other Porsche models depends on whether new technology will make it possible to substantially reduce battery size.
At the moment, the spokesman said, lithium ion batteries are still too large to fit into Porsche sports cars. A solution may be available for the Panamera, a four-door coupe the company plans to launch next year.