Porsche Cayenne Hybrid

Description:

For quite a number of years, environmentalists have criticized Porsche. According to them, this car manufacturer is not taking any initiative to improve the fuel efficiency of the cars manufactured by them. Answering back at these negative comments by the environmentalists, Porsche has come out with the Cayenne, its first hybrid vehicle. The hybridizing of their models by Porsche will assist this organization to meet the tough CO2 standards of the European Union. The head of the hybrid car program of Porsche, Michael H. Lieters has told the AP (Associated Press) that his organization was trying to shake off the anti-green image attributed to them.

Porsche announced its first hybrid at the Frankfurt auto show held in the year 2007 and during the course of the show, they had also promised to release Cayenne SUV’s hybrid version by the end of the decade. During that period, Porsche had estimated that the hybrid version of the Cayenne would enhance its fuel efficiency by 15% compared to the conventional one. This hybrid version of the Cayenne is being developed under partnership with Volkswagen. The Frankfurt auto show held in the year 2007 saw a demo model of the Cayenne hybrid being demonstrated.

Whereas Porsche had said that the efficiency of this model would be better by 15% compared to the conventional one, everyone was pleasantly surprised to note that the improvement factor was nearly 30%. The Cayenne hybrid was capable of achieving more than 24 mpg that is far better than the 18 miles per gallon provided by the conventional model. This is not the end of the road and spokespersons of the company hinted that by the time the hybrid vehicle hits the road, it might touch the 26 miles per gallon mark. Let us peek under the hood of the Porsche and see what makes it tick. It boasts of a 3.6 liter direct fuel injection gas engine along with a electric motor. A 228 V, 38 KW NiMH (nickel metal hydride) battery pack that powers the electric engine is kept below the luggage compartment in the space normally reserved for spare tires.

Do not make any mistakes about this car. It is a full hybrid system 4 wheel drive vehicle, having its electric motor and clutch positioned between the transmission and the engine. When the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid is released, it will be in league with other reputed concept hybrid vehicles like BMW X6 and Lexus 400h. Both the price and release dates are vague. For those who do not know, here is an interesting piece of news taken from the leaves of history. Porsche is credited with being one of the pioneers of hybrid vehicles with one of the earliest such car being designed way back in 1900 by Ferdinand Porsche. That electric vehicle boasted of battery-powered electric motors being directly incorporated with the front wheel hubs. When an internal combustion gasoline engine to run a generator was added to that car, it became a true hybrid.