Porsche Diesel Cars

Amidst the aftermath of Volkswagen’s diesel scandal, Porsche has decided to ditch diesel engines from its line-up entirely. The Stuttgart automaker is exploring hybrid and electric technology since the segment is picking up pace at an alarming rate, which has reduced diesel sales substantially. The question now is, how will this affect Porsche sales in the future?

Chalk this up as an unconventional demonstration of a Porsche’s capabilities. The German automaker just set a Guinness World Record by towing a 314-ton Airbus A380 nearly 138 feet across the tarmac at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. That’s well beyond the previous record of 100 feet set by a Nissan Patrol in 2013. The Porsche also surpassed the Nissan in weight towed, too, as the Patrol’s airplane “only” weighed 170 tons. But Porsche didn’t just use one version of its popular SUV; both the torque-rich Cayenne S Diesel and the high-performance Turbo S proved their might.

This isn’t the first time Volkswagen, Porsche’s parent company, has set records by pulling oversized airplanes. Back in 2006, the VW Touareg equipped with its optional V-10 TDI turbodiesel pulled a 155-ton Boeing 747. The Touareg was “slightly modified” with a whopping 10,000 pounds of sandbags for extra traction. Other automakers have pulled similar stunts, including Toyota in 2012. A bone-stock Tundra pickup pulled the 325-ton Space Shuttle Endeavour and its heavy tow dollies across the Manchester Bridge in California.

Continue reading for more on the Porsche Cayennes used in this extreme stunt.

Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal has had far-reaching consequences for a lot of parties and the lingering effects have extended all the way to some of the conglomerate’s other auto brands. Porsche, for one, has already felt the pinch when it was forced to pull the Porsche Cayenne Diesel from the U.S. market in late 2015 even though the SUV had gained a lot of traction in the market. That wasn’t the case for the Macan Diesel, which was supposed to have already made its debut in the U.S. But, in the wake of that scandal, Porsche opted to hold off on the Macan Diesel’s U.S. debut.

That has put Porsche Cars North America in a precarious position. The company had high hopes for the Macan Diesel as a lower-cost alternative to its Cayenne counterpart. But with the scandal still in the minds of a lot of people, there’s been some uncertainty within Porsche on when the crossover will be offered in the U.S. market. Speaking with Automotive News, Porsche Cars NA CEO Klaus Zellmer indicated that the company still has plans of bringing the Macan Diesel to the U.S. market. That’s still set in stone.

What isn’t set in stone is the timetable, something Zellmer admitted is a tricky thing to navigate given the steps the company needs to take before the model can be sold in the US. That’s going to take some time considering that Porsche still has to work things out with the proper authorities and do the necessary repairs on the models to make them up-to-stuff (legally) in the market.

The good news is that this isn’t an “if” question, but a “when” question. Porsche has every intention of releasing the Macan Diesel in the U.S. Zellmer even said that customer feedback on the Cayenne Diesel has been overwhelmingly positive and that a lot of customers were disappointed to see the SUV removed from the market.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Porsche plans to expand the U.S.-spec Macan lineup, which was introduced 2015, to include a diesel-powered model for 2016. That’s the word from Auto News, who quotes vice president of marketing for Porsche Cars North America Andre Oosthuizen and adds that sales of the diesel Macan would begin in late 2015 or early 2016.

"We are now busy with the development and the engineering," Oosthuizen confirmed, adding that the U.S.-spec Macan’s 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engine will deliver about 245 horsepower. The Macan S Diesel cranks out 255 ponies at 4,000 rpm and a whopping 428 pound-feet of torque from 1,750 rpm in its Euro-spec guise.

Equipped with a PDK transmission and all-wheel-drive, the Macan S Diesel sprints from 0 to 62 mph in 6.3 seconds and hits a top speed of 143 mph. We expect the U.S.-spec model to boast the same top speed and a 0-to-60 mph benchmark of around 6.4 seconds. Naturally, the Macan Diesel will become the most fuel-efficient member of the U.S. Macan family, surpassing the S’ 23 mpg highway and 17 mpg combined by a significant margin. The U.S. unveiling is reportedly set at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Asked whether or not Porsche is planning on bringing the four-cylinder Macan to the U.S. as well, Oosthuizen said the model is "not under consideration for the foreseeable future."

Click past the jump to read more about the Porsche Macan Diesel.

The folks over at Teknikens Värld are back in the news after an alarming review of a Porsche Macan S Diesel failing a moose test. If this rings any bells, we’d like to remind you that Teknikens Värld has had a history of “failed” moose tests, most notably on the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee back in July 2012. This time, test driver Linus Pröjtz performed the same test on the Macan S Diesel with strangely similar results as the Grand Cherokee.

During his test, Projtz noted that the Macan S Diesel’s left front wheel locked up during the move, which is designed to test the car’s maneuverability when the driver has to swerve because of a suddenly appearing obstacle. The locked wheel poses a problem because in real-life conditions, the Macan could veer into a different lane for a longer period of time. This increases the risk of an accident, which is obviously the last thing Porsche needs to happen to its brand new SUV.

Needless to say, Porsche issued a quick response to Projtz claims. According to the German automaker, the left front brake locked because the Macan’s Active Rollover Protection system engaged so the Macan doesn’t tip over to its side. It seems like a reasonable explanation, except that Porsche went into greater detail about how the system is supposed to work, adding that “the precise, momentary application of brake force to the front wheel at the outside of the bend down to the low slip range minimizes cornering forces to avoid critical or instable driving conditions such as oversteer, rollover or detachment of the tire from the wheel."

Judging by Teknikens Värld’s back-and-forth with Chrysler went after the 2012 Grand Cherokee’s moose test in July 2012, something tells me that this issue is far from over.

Kahn Design just launched a hot body upgrade for the diesel Porsche Cayenne, bringing some of its chic mods to a truck besides the Range Rovers that are its bread and butter.

Kahn favors a huge revamp outside and in. The exterior and the interior look of the Cayenne were updated, but the base 3.0-liter, V-6 diesel is quite enough. It delivers a total of 240 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, while delivering range and tax options to people without the Turbo S.

The exterior look however, is deeply revised and transforms even the Cayenne Diesel into a mean and powerful SUV.

New sports lowered suspension springs bring the car closer to be road, while the privacy glass ensures a the best privacy behind the wheel. Numerous Kahn logos placed on the wing shields and tailgate remind you this is no ordinary Cayenne.

Click past the jump to read more about the Porsche Cayenne Super Sport Wide Track by Kahn Design.

After the new generation Porsche Panamera made its world debut at the 2013 Auto China in Shanghai, the new diesel version of the luxury sedan will be unveiled next week at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. When compared to the previous generation, the new Panamera Diesel delivers an extra 50 horsepower and is both faster and more fuel efficient.

Next to the more powerful engine, the revised Panamera Diesel will adopt the same design language we have seen in the gasoline version. It will get a revised front fascia with redesigned headlights and larger air intakes and for the rear, a wider spoiler and redesigned taillights. As usual, no changes were made on the interior.

The new generation Panamera Diesel will be put on sale in January 2014 at a starting price of €85,300 - about $113,000 at the current exchange rates.

Click past the jump to read more about the Porsche Panamera Diesel.

Kahn Design is keeping busy releasing a new tuning program every week. So far, they have been focusing on Land Rover models, but this week’s package du jour is for the Porsche Cayenne 3.0 Diesel.

Kahn started by adding a very cool aerodynamic package which includes vented front and rear wide wheel arches with integrated front and rear air dams, a lower boot lid spoiler, and exterior Kahn enamel wing shields. The door handles are finished in matte black, while the brake calipers are finished in liquid gold. They have also opted to put in LED daytime running lights for the front wheel arch vents and privacy tinted glass. The final element of the exterior package is a new set of 22" Kahn RS wheels finished in a color chosen by the customer. There is also a sports lowering module which provides the car with a sportier appearance.

For the interior, the package adds black and carbon quilted and perforated leather with ivory contrast stitching, a black and carbon quilted leather center glovebox, a red and cream colored speedo and rev counter facia, and balck charcoal finish floor mats.

For those that think Volkswagen was kidding when it said it was time to start expanding Porsche’s lineup, this may come as a surprise to you, but Porsche is again expanding the Cayenne lineup. For those of us that anticipated the changes, this new addition might come as a surprise – particularly to U.S. buyers that see diesel-powered vehicles as sloth-like utility buggies.

Porsche has just released that it is ready to unveil the all new Porsche Cayenne S Diesel. Yes, that’s right, a diesel-powered Cayenne S. This isn’t your relatively slow Cayenne Diesel with its 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 diesel powerplant. Rather this is a true performance model in every sense of the word.

We expect to see this model show its face in public at the 2012 Paris Motor show, which kicks off later on this month. We also expect this to be a huge deal in Porsche’s lineup, given it can perform as an S-badged Porsche should, yet still provide the fuel economy and emissions benefits afforded by switching to this gasoline-refinement byproduct as its fuel.

Click past the jump to read our full review and find out if this is just another rapitty-tapitty diesel or if this is truly a performance vehicle worthy of the S designation.

Even though the Baby Boxster is still supposedly on hold, we all know that the Baby Cayenne (AKA the Porsche Macan) will make its debut sometime next year. We also learned, via Autocar, that the Macan will bear a 370-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 at its top end and will likely feature a 220-horsepower 4-cylinder at the bottom end. Mixed in the middle may be a 295-horsepower, 3.6-liter 6-cylinder and a 2.0-liter diesel engine with 190 horsepower.

Additionally we knew that Porsche was planning to limit first-year production to just 45,000 units. According to Automotive News Europe, via WirtschaftsWoche, Porsche has recently upped that number to 75,000 units. There’s no rhyme or reason to the increase, but apparently Volkswagen, Porsche’s new majority owner, sees the Macan as a key piece to hitting the 200,000-unit sales number goal by 2018.

The reports of this increase come without any sources cited, so we are not sure of its validity. Porsche will certainly make an announcement of this increase in production numbers soon, given it is a true report. Hopefully, VW seeing that there is a market for Porsche to get into smaller and less-expensive versions of its existing vehicles will lead to a restarting of the Baby Boxster project, but, we’re not holding our breath on that one.

We’ll update you with any more information that pops up on the Macan as we inch closer to its debut.

With 250 HP, the Panamera Diesel isn’t the most powerful model in the line-up by a long shot. By comparison, the Panamera Turbo doubles this output (500 HP) and the Turbo S goes to 550 HP. Lucky for us, McChip DKR has revealed an impressive upgrade package to help the diesel engine out just a little bit.

The engine modifications prepared for the Panamera Diesel increase its 3.0 L V6 engine’s output to a total of 285 HP and 442 lbs-ft of torque. As a result, the sports sedan’s top speed can now go up to 152 mph with an undoubtedly faster 0-60 mph sprint time (no official time provided).

Next to the engine update, McChip-DKR is also offering a new set of performance springs from H&R which lowers the big Porsche by about 30 millimeters, as well as a new set of 22" wheels wrapped in Dunlop Sport Maxx GT high-performance tires.

It may not be the power and performance provided by the Turbo and Turbo S models, but this extra little boost to the Panamera Diesel may just be enough to make some Porsche customers happy.

In its standard version the Porsche Panamera Diesel is powered by a 3.0 liter V6 diesel engine that delivers a total of 250 HP. Good, but not very impressive for a luxury sedan like this. So, this is where the German tuner TechArt comes into focus. The tuner has just unveiled a pretty cool tuning package that increases the output from 250 HP to 280 HP (a 30 HP increase). Peak torque goes from 405 lbs-ft to 442 lbs-ft.

For 2,490 euro (or $3,130 at the current exchange rates) clients will get an ECU upgrade and a Techtronic system. As a result the car will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 6.6 seconds and up to a top speed of 153 mph.

The tuner is not offering any exterior or interior upgrades for the car, but the Panamera looks pretty cool from factory and it needs no changes to be made.

German tuner, Hofele Design, has earned a stellar reputation as one of the leading Porsche Cayenne tuners in the world. Their program for the Porsche SUV, called the "Cayster GT 670," has been developed for a number of model years for the Cayenne and we’re not the least bit surprised to find out that they’ve released an updated version for the 2012 model.

Made up of a comprehensive aerodynamic body kit to go with a performance program, the 2012 Cayster GT 670 is one Cayenne that has truly been modded to look more aggressive than a standard 2012 Cayenne looks.

The first part of the package is a 14-piece aero kit that includes a number of new "bolt-on" components, including a new front bumper with integrated LED lights, widened wheel arches, a new "PowerDome" hood, new side sills, a rear spoiler and roof wing, and a new rear bumper with its own diffuser. Rounding off the exterior changes are a new set of 20" or 22" alloy wheels that have been finished in either black or silver.

Inside, the German tuner fitted new two-tone "StarLight" leather seats with quilted accents and Hofele Design logos embroidered on the headrests.

As far as performance is concerned, Hofele Design has a number of modifications for both the Cayenne Diesel and Cayenne S Hybrid. For the former, the engine enhancements increased the output of the SUV from the standard 241 horsepower and 405 lb/ft of torque all the way up to 296 horsepower and 479 lb/ft of torque. Meanwhile, the latter gets an increased output of 474 horsepower and 543 lb/ft of torque, a significant improvement from the standard model’s 374 horsepower and 427 lb/ft of torque numbers.

The recent 33rd Vienna Motor Symposium brought out some of the most amazing details about Volkswagen’s future plans, ranging from internal combustion engines to hybrids and electrics. However, one of the most amazing announcements involved a diesel engine for the future Porsche Boxster.

This isn’t the first time Porsche will be offering a diesel engine for their models - they are already doing it with the Cayenne and Panamera - but offering it in two large models and then going to a tiny sports car is quite a jump. It may sound crazy, but Porsche has indicated that it could happen in the future.

Porsche R&D Chief and VW Group’s engine guru Wolfgang Hatz said at the conference that he is "firmly convinced the internal combustion engine will remain dominant in the foreseeable future. The diesel has arrived and is a firm part of our strategy. There will be more powerful variations with Porsche-like performance. It would be wrong to say no to a Boxster diesel for all times."

This news follows the announcement of the Porsche Boxster E, which has been in the prototype stage for a couple of years ans should be debuting for the 2013 MY. The Boxster E is powered by two independent electric motors - one on the front axle and one on the rear - that develop a total power output of 241 HP and a maximum total torque of 398 lbs-ft at a maximum engine speed of approximately 12,000 rpm. With this amount of power, the car will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and can hit a top speed of 124 mph, all while producing zero tailpipe emissions.

The question is which type of engine would you prefer for the Boxster: a diesel or a full electric? Let us know in the comments section below!

Just a few weeks ago, we teased you about Porsche bringing its popular-in-Europe clean diesel engine to the U.S., and installing it in the Cayenne. Not only is this engine powerful, boasting 240 horsepower, 406 pound-feet of torque, and towing 7,716 pounds, but it is also economical, getting 28 mpg.

According to our colleagues over at Car and Driver, we are essentially just getting Europe’s hand-me-downs. Much like a big brother does with clothes that are too small for him, European Porsche drivers have grown out of the 3.0-liter V-6 diesel that we are just now getting and are moving into a larger engine, a full two cylinders larger that is.

Yup, Porsche will be adding in a V-8 diesel option to the Cayenne lineup in the “very near future,” according to Car and Driver’s report. It looks like the most likely and cost-effective diesel engine to offer is the Audi 4.2-liter V-8 that cranks out 346 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, given Porsche and Audi are in bed under the VW umbrella. Given how well the smaller 3.0-liter diesel performs now, this engine would make the Cayenne diesel a screamer – as much as a diesel can be a screamer. It would also thrust its towing rating toward a truck-like 10,000-pound mark.

With that said, there are also rumors afloat that another VW affiliate, Bentley, may be working directly with Porsche to develop this new diesel engine.

Now, before you start getting all excited for this large diesel engine, you can forget about it. Porsche does not appear to have any plans on bringing this larger diesel engine to the U.S. This is no surprise, as the European market is easier for Porsche to distribute to, as well as the fact that Euro drivers are accustomed to buying these clean diesels than U.S. buyers are. Maybe one day the European market will outgrow this engine and we will finally get it here, but the chances are slim.

Europeans have been driving a diesel version of the Porsche Cayenne since 2009, but now Porsche has finally decided that it was the right time for the US market to get in on the action. After being rumored for quite some time, the US version version of the Cayenne Diesel will be making its world debut at the 2012 New York Auto Show.

The new Cayenne Diesel is powered by an efficient 3.0-liter V6 turbo
diesel engine that delivers a total of 240 HP and 406 lb.-ft. of torque. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in just 7.2 seconds and can hit a top speed of 135 mph. This figures are delivered while still providing a fuel economy of 23 mpg on a combined cycle. The engine is mated to an 8-speed Tiptronic S transmission, without the Auto Start/Stop function available on other Cayenne variants.

The new Porsche Cayenne Diesel will go on sale in September 2012 at a starting price of $55,750, not including a $975 destination charge.

Hit the jump to read more about the 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel.

For about two years, it’s been rumored that Porsche was planning to offer a diesel version of their Cayenne SUV for the North American market and now, those rumors will finally be confirmed. Porsche will be headed to this year’s New York Auto Show with the American version of the Cayenne Turbo Diesel.

Just like the Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7, the Cayenne Diesel will be powered by a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel engine delivering a total of 240 HP and 406 lb-ft of torque. Porsche has promised that under city driving conditions, the new model will deliver a fuel economy of 20 mpg, a 5mpg improvement over the current Cayenne and Cayenne Turbo.

The new Porsche Cayenne Turbo Diesel will go on sale in America in the second half of 2012 and will be priced under the current Cayenne S hybrid, or about $65k. More details will follow closer to the car’s official debut, so stay tuned!

Porsche is offering up proof that even the most luxurious cars can be fuel efficient with the debut of a V6 diesel engine on the Porsche Panamera.

The new Panamera Diesel is now equipped with a 3.0 liter V6 diesel engine that delivers a total of 250 HP and will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, while top speed is limited to 150 mph. What’s even more impressive is that the sports sedan was tested and received an impressive 745 miles on an 80 liter tank with an average fuel consumption of only 6.3 liters per 100 kilometers, or about 37 mpg.

In Germany, the new Panamera Diesel will be priced at about 80,183 euro, or about $119,500 at the current exchange rates, and will go on sale in August 2011. There hasn’t been any mention as to if the Panamera Diesel will be available on the US market.

UPDATE 08/31/11: We’ve updated our photo gallery of the Porsche Panamera Diesel with more pictures. Check out the gallery to see the new snapshots of the diesel Panamera!

Hit the jump to read more about the 2012 Porsche Panamera Diesel.