German magazine AutoBild is reporting that Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking has finally confirmed that a diesel powered Cayenne will indeed appear in 2009. Porsche has long denied that would build a diesel powered vehicle because it would be out of character for the brand. This is of course a bogus argument since the Cayenne itself is out of character. We've previously seen spy photos of Cayennes being fueled at diesel pumps in northern Sweden. The Cayenne diesel get the same 3.0L TDI diesel V6 that's going into the VW Touareg and Audi Q7. The 240 hp V6 is expected to yield 24.5 mpg (US). The hybrid Cayenne will arrive a year later using a lithium ion battery in place of the nickel metal hydride battery that was shown in the prototype at the LA Auto Show last fall.


[Source: AutoBild via German Car Blog]

Sebastian and Sam are back for episode 15 of the AutoblogGreen Podcast. We start with a recap of what Sam got to see at the LA Auto Show - the Honda FCX Clarity, Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, as well as the GM 2-Mode Hybrid trucks. While in LA, Sam got to take a thrilling ride in a Tesla Roadster with Daryl Siry of Tesla where they discuss Tesla's future plans, and the challenges you face when bringing a viable EV to market. Sebastian had the chance to talk with Jonathan Williams about a "tri-brid"fuel-cell mini-bus that also has batteries and ultracapacitors on board. There will be more on this when Sebastian reports from EVS23 next wee. The podcast clocks in at 57 minutes this week, enjoy!

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We reported the other day that Audi was planning to introduce a hybrid version of the Q7 SUV next year. The hybrid power-train was co-developed with corporate partners Volkswagen and Porsche. The Q7s platform mates the Touareg, and Cayenne will both use the hybrid setup as will the Porsche Panamera. A video has now appeared of prototype Cayenne hybrids in action and it also includes some animation of power flows in the system in various operating modes. You can check out the video after the jump

[Source: WorldCarFans, YouTube]

The crew at British magazine CAR have more details on the configuration of the new Porsche Cayenne hybrid that's due in 2009 and even got a chance to drive it. Porsche has some lofty targets for the fuel efficiency improvement with their hybrid setup including a fuel economy bump from 18.2 mpg (US) for the current Cayenne V6 up to 26.5 mpg. They aren't there yet though only managing 24 mpg right now.

The hybrid setup uses an electric motor situated next to the engine that can send torque to all four wheels. A clutch between the engine and transmission allow auto-shutoff of the engine and electric power mode at up to 75mph, battery charge permitting. The Cayenne will have electro-hydraulic steering and braking as well as electric air conditioning. The Porsche engineers are also working to reduce the 330lb weight gain by eventually replacing the NiMH battery pack with a lithium ion unit, but that won't be ready for start of production.

[Source: CAR]