Cayenne range extended by new diesel engine and hybrid drive

The Porsche Cayenne is one of the success stories of the automotive world. To date, over a quarter of a million examples have been sold since its launch six years ago. In the last financial year 2007/08, 45,478 examples of the Cayenne were sold around the world – more than ever before in a 12 month period.

With over 60 years’ experience of building some of the world’s best sports cars, Porsche has brought its expertise in engine technology and chassis development to a new segment with the Cayenne with resounding success. Versatility is the spirit of the Cayenne. Every model offers superlative performance on road and track, combined with exceptional capability off-road. Powerful yet practical in every scenario, the Cayenne is very definitely 100% Porsche.

Cayenne Overview
The Cayenne range has solid foundations in the form of the 290bhp 3.6-litre V6 petrol Cayenne, starting at £36,801, and the new 3.0-litre V6 Cayenne diesel with standard six-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission, priced from £39,404. At the pinnacle is the superlative 550bhp 4.8-litre V8 twin-turbocharged Cayenne Turbo S, from £88,869.

With a 385bhp 4.8-litre V8, the Cayenne S offers a broad spread of on and off-road ability, and is priced from £46,343. The Cayenne GTS, with lowered, stiffened suspension, 21” alloy wheels, and a 405bhp version of the 4.8-litre V8, emphasises the exemplary on-road chassis dynamics of the Cayenne. The GTS is priced from £54,085.

Sharing the 4.8-litre V8 of the S and GTS, but adding forced induction for even greater performance, the 500bhp Cayenne Turbo offers an unrivalled blend of power and comfort. Priced from £75,137, the Turbo, with a six-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission, can accelerate from 0-62mph in 5.1secs. Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) is standard, which continuously monitors the damping force on each wheel based on changing road conditions and driving style.

Available to special order, the Turbo S is the ultimate Cayenne, offering a 550bhp version of the twin-turbo 4.8-litre V8. This increase in power lowers the 0-62mph time by 0.3secs, but, remarkably, the average fuel economy is identical to that of the Turbo – 19.0mpg Combined. The Cayenne Turbo and Turbo S are also available with the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) option, which increases braking performance and offers a like-for-like weight saving of 50% compared to a steel disc.

There are two additional bespoke models in the Cayenne range; the special order Transsyberia and the limited edition GTS Porsche Design Edition 3. Costing from £52,783, the Transsyberia commemorates the success of the Cayenne in the gruelling 4,347 mile Rallye Transsyberia from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia in 2007 and 2008. The specification of the car has sporting overtones, with a 405bhp 4.8-litre V8 and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) as standard.

The Cayenne GTS Porsche Design Edition 3, which is limited to just one thousand numbered units worldwide, features styling cues that underline the V8-powered, high-performance personality of this Porsche. The clear imprint of the Porsche Design Studio, based in Zell am See, Austria, which is one of the world leaders in industrial and product design, on this Cayenne model can be seen in the choice of the paintwork colour, Lava Grey Metallic. This is underlined further by design stripes along the side and on the bonnet and 21-inch diameter SportPlus alloy wheels that are also colour co-ordinated to match the special exterior colour. Priced from £64,753, the Cayenne GTS Porsche Design Edition 3 is supplied with a unique Porsche Design Chronograph watch and four-piece luggage set bearing the ‘Porsche Design Edition 3’ label.

The new Cayenne Diesel
As is self evident, the desire to constantly improve is a hallmark of Porsche, and the company is used to exploring new territory. The most significant addition to the Cayenne range – the Cayenne Diesel – is a perfect demonstration of this ethos. However, while the Cayenne Diesel may use a different fuel, it certainly shares the same spirit as its petrol-engined relatives.

The introduction of the Cayenne Diesel extends customer choice more widely. The Porsche stake in Volkswagen Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of modern diesel engines for passenger cars, has opened up new opportunities to utilise sporty compression-ignition technology under the bonnet of the Cayenne.

The Cayenne Diesel offers a 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel engine with 240bhp (176kW), an average consumption of 30.4mpg Combined (9.3 litres/100km) and emissions of 244g/km CO2. The spontaneous throttle response and high torque characteristics of this common rail direct fuel injection diesel engine ensure high performance levels that are appropriate for an athletic, all-terrain vehicle such as the Cayenne. The substantial peak torque of 550 Nm between 2,000 – 2,400rpm complements the proven sports-oriented chassis dynamics and provides a high degree of control to offer driving enjoyment typical of Porsche.

With its combination of a sporting drive and efficient, high performance drivetrain, the new Cayenne Diesel complements the rest of the range perfectly. The Cayenne Diesel is on sale now at the 34 Porsche Centres across the UK and Ireland.

With the introduction of the Cayenne Diesel, Porsche is consistently continuing its commitment to reduce fuel consumption in all its cars. As early as spring 2007, Porsche equipped the new generation of the Cayenne with engines featuring petrol direct-injection that consume up to 15 per cent less fuel in real-world driving conditions. Since summer 2008, Porsche has also offered the most recent generation of the 911 sports car with direct-injection petrol engines. A more significant step-change will take place with the introduction of a Cayenne variant with hybrid drive that will exceed 31 mpg, and which will be launched onto the market in the next two years.

The Cayenne Hybrid
Hybrid drive by Porsche has a long tradition, with company founder Ferdinand Porsche being acknowledged as the inventor of this drive system. As early as 1900, Ferdinand Porsche developed the Lohner-Porsche Mixte as a serial hybrid vehicle, to use today’s terminology, with the car’s 15bhp four-cylinder connected directly to an 80 volt dynamo. The electricity generated in this way went either to wheel hub electric motors integrated in the front wheels or to a battery. This vehicle is acknowledged as the world’s first hybrid car built in standard production.

Now, joining forces with Volkswagen, Porsche has once again developed a production vehicle with a parallel full hybrid drive for introduction later to the market. Drive power in the Cayenne S Hybrid will come primarily from a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 with Direct Fuel Injection interacting with a 38kW/52bhp electric motor used either as an additional source of power to boost the output of the petrol engine or as the sole drive unit operating on its own. Indeed, a unique function of the Cayenne Hybrid is its ability to smoothly cruise or ‘roll along’ with the combustion engine switched off and disengaged at high speeds in the so-called ‘sailing’ mode. This practice allows the driver to save fuel at speeds up to 86mph (138km/h), for example when driving on the Autobahn at a relatively consistent speed.

The Cayenne S Hybrid showcases a power-train at the cutting-edge of technology. With forced induction via an engine-driven supercharger, the 2,995cc engine develops 333bhp (245kW) between 5,500 – 7,000rpm. Maximum torque of 440Nm is produced at 2,900rpm and sustained consistently through to 5,300rpm.

In conjunction with the combustion engine, the electric motor serves as a booster for extra power; maximum combined output is 374bhp (275kW) and peak torque of 550Nm at 1,500rpm. Accelerating from rest to 62mph (100km/h) in 6.8secs, the Cayenne S Hybrid thus offers the same sprinting qualities as its sister models with a ‘regular’ V8 – hence it proudly bearing the same ‘S’ designation.

Masterminded by the powerful Hybrid Manager, the Cayenne S Hybrid will consume less than nine litres per 100km in the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) equal to CO2 emissions of less than 210g/km – some 20 per cent less than on a conventional vehicle comparable to a Cayenne and with the same kind of power.
Based on a six cylinder engine, the Cayenne S Hybrid combines the output of an eight cylinder with the fuel consumption of a four cylinder.

The Cayenne S Hybrid will arrive at Porsche Centres by 2010. Meantime, every new Cayenne customer is able to explore the dynamic attributes of their car, and develop their own skills behind the wheel, courtesy of a Driving Experience Programme at the new Porsche Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone.