news

Going green puts pressure on Porsche

Porsche rather oddly have declared their disappointment with some European manufacturers of small cars for only reducing CO2 emissions by 2 percent for their category since 2002.

That’s right…the manufacturer of the twin-turbo V8 Cayenne and some of


Porsche rather oddly have declared their disappointment with some European manufacturers of small cars for only reducing CO2 emissions by 2 percent for their category since 2002.

That’s right…the manufacturer of the twin-turbo V8 Cayenne and some of the worlds most powerful sports cars has spat the dummy at the little fellas… The fire and brimstone was spat by Porsche board member Michael Macht who was disappointed with the contribution made by European small car manufacturers to the lowering of CO2 outputs.

The reason for the outburst are the looming stringent new European Union guidelines on carbon emissions. The EU are pushing for average new car emissions to total 130g/km of CO2 by 2012 and is now in discussions with manufacturers concerning the implementation of this target. Given that the Cayenne Turbo currently puffs out 358g/km you can see the source of Porsche’s distress.

“If the European Commission decides that every individual car maker must reach the 130g/km of carbon dioxide target, then Porsche will have to close its doors,” said a Porsche company insider.

Porsche are apparently lobbying for what is described as a somewhat ambitious percentage reduction in emissions rather than an absolute limit of 130g/km. In the meantime Porsche claim to have reduced the CO2 output of the Cayenne by 15 percent by introducing direct injection technology which it says will filter through the rest of the Porsche range in 2008.

As previously reported we also know that Porsche are working with VW and Audi on a Hybrid version of their shared (Cayenne) SUV platform and the Panamera four-door due for release in 2009 is expected to include a hybrid option. Porsche have ruled out diesel as an option saying that it is ‘against Porsche philosophy’ and diesel Porsche performance cars would not be accepted in markets like the USA and Japan.

With so much change on the horizon for European manufacturers it becomes very clear why Porsche needed a majority stake in Volkswagen. The R&D, technology and component sharing available via VW will be vital for Porsches survival over the coming ‘cleaner’ years.

Source : Car Magazine

Chat with us!







Chat with Agent