Porsche: The Green Car Brand

After recently announcing their move towards low-emissions Boxster, Porsche release more green car news.

The fabulous 911 GT3 race car that competes in the 2010 Nurburgring 24 hour race will sonn be converted to a new low emission version. Combining race performance and green car technology the new 911 GT3 will feature a hybrid engine.

Audi and Peugeot already race with diesel cars - a concept that seemed ludicrous a few years ago - but Porsche will cut its racing emissions by going down the petrol-electric route.

Porsche have been putting in the hours developing hybrid technology and are set to release the Cayenne hybrid in August of this year. With competition from the Lexus range and environmental lobbyists cars like the Cayenne have had to slim down their carbon footprint.

The Porsche Cayenne will get its power from a 3.0-litre V6 petrol unit linked to an electric motor, producing up to 400bhp and running the V8 Cayenne S close in terms of outright performance, while returning economy and CO2 emissions close to the V6 diesel model's.

They are also planning an entry level V6 Panamera too, which will undercut the current base model - the V8 S - in terms of emissions, economy and price. Performance will still be strong, but it's thought that the V6 will be a true entry-level model, taking the five-door into more mainstream territory by dropping expensive equipment such as adaptive air suspension.

The move to adopt hybrid technology for the 911 GT3 comes as no surprise, particularly in the events that it competes. Lowering emissions means better fuel economy. Better fuel economy means less refuelling and in a 24 hour race the time spent refuelling can decide a race.

So expect to see more hybrid version coming to the race track and dealerships near you.

E. Dooley

07/01/2010