Porsche ponders diesel future

JUST days after announcing plans to produce its first-ever diesel model with the Cayenne SUV, Porsche has refused to rule out the forthcoming Panamera four-door passenger car as its next model in line for diesel power.

Speaking to GoAuto at the international launch of the facelifted Cayman S coupe in Spain last week, Porsche’s head of international press Michael Baumann said it would be “foolish” to rule out the Panamera as the German sportscar marque’s next diesel model, but emphasised that it would not be offered at its launch next year.

Asked whether models other than Cayenne would be fitted with a diesel engine, Mr Baumann said: “We never say absolutely no. (But) when I say that, you have to make sure that I am not saying yes.” Referring to the Panamera specifically, Mr Baumann said: “It would be foolish to say no, but we haven’t even talked about the engines that are in the Panamera… Initially, I can say there will be no diesel in the Panamera.

“We think there is a lot of potential in the petrol engines still a lot of development work can be done,” he said.

Boxster and Cayman product line powertrain manager Jurgen Kapfer told GoAuto there was little prospect of the iconic 911 gaining a diesel engine in the foreseeable future.



“I can’t see it happening when I am alive,” he said, adding that diesel was ideal for towing but not necessarily suited to sportscar applications.

Boxster and Cayman product line director Hans-Jurgen Wohler also implied that diesel engines did not deliver the type of experience most Porsche sportscar buyers sought. “Sportscar customers want to be able to be able to keep revving the engine,” he said.

The Cayenne SUV will use a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel developed and produced by Audi. As recently as last year, Porsche executives were vowing that diesel power was not on the company’s agenda.

“For us, what really changed the situation is our relationship with Volkswagen,” Mr Baumann said. “We now have such a close relationship with Volkswagen, owning, at this point, roughly 42 per cent of the company, and Volkswagen happens to be the largest producer of diesel engines in passenger cars in Europe.

“It is one thing to develop an engine yourself for a relatively small number of cars, but that is not economically viable. So the economic parameters changed because we couldn’t get an engine from Audi without having to develop it ourselves.” Mr Baumann said another contributing factor was the changing tax regimes in many European countries, which greatly encouraged diesel powerplants.

The Cayenne diesel will be introduced in Europe next February, two months before it will arrive in Australia with a starting price of $101,900.

A petrol-electric hybrid engine is also expected to be made available in the next-generation Cayenne early next decade.

Porsche is yet to provide details on the engines that will be available with the Panamera, but has confirmed will be V-engines in six and eight-cylinder configuration and ranging in power from 220kW to 368kW. It also hinted that some of the engines will “use turbocharger technology”.

The Panamera is also slated to use a petrol-electric powertrain further down the track and Porsche has confirmed its global public debut has been delayed by one month - from Switzerland's Geneva motor show in March to the Shanghai show in April, as a mark of China's emerging importance.

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