Porsche plans to launch a hybrid version of every model in its range in a bid to reduce its fleet average CO2 emissions.
This is according to the firm’s development chief Wolfgang Dürheimer. “In the future we will have hybrid drive in every model,” he told Auto News.
See official pics of the Porsche 918 Spyder
With a hybrid version of its Cayenne SUV already on sale, Porsche’s next step will be the introduction of a hybrid Panamera in 2011. According to Porsche engine chief, Heinz-Jakob Neusser, the Panamera hybrid “should manage between five to six kilometres” on electric power alone.
Hybrid versions of the 911, Boxster and Cayman are also planned by Porsche, said Dürheimer, but he didn’t give any time frame.
Porsches’s first hybrid sports car, the 918 Spyder, has already been confirmed for production and its development will help dictate how Porsche puts more mainstream electric and hybrid sports cars into production in the future.
Read the full story on the Porsche 918 Spyder
The announcement of hybrid sports cars comes after the European Union set Porsche a target of reducing its CO2 emissions to 216g/km by 2015 from 255g/km now.
Porsche is already experimenting with four-cylinder engines with turbocharging and direct-injection, according to Dürheimer. He also repeated Porsche’s desire for a new model to be no heavier than the one it replaces.
