So Porsche has finally done what it always said it would not do and is going to put a diesel engine into one of its production cars.
But for those of you who think a diesel is about as appropriate a power source for a Porsche as a steam engine for an F1 car, it requires nothing like the mental leap we all had to make when Porsche abandoned half a century of building lightweight two door sportscars and produced a two tonne, five door, cod off-road leviathan called the Cayenne.
And history recalls the buying public in general and the Americans in particular took to the Cayenne in their hundreds of thousands. Truth is the Cayenne owes nothing at all to traditional Porsche values and if putting a diesel in one will make it more frugal, give it a better range while still performing approximately as well as the already hardly electrifying standard Cayenne, then who cares? 
Not me. It's when they conclude its a good motive source for a Cayman or a 911 - otherwise known as proper Porsches with proper Porsche values - that we should start to be really concerned.
Personally I think the last well will run dry before Porsche lets that come to pass.
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re: Why the diesel 911 will never happen
Will the 911 diesel ever happen.................... I hope not.
re: Why the diesel 911 will never happen
Sorry Andrew, I disagree. I believe that, the way things are going, Porsche would be foolish not to plan diesels for their models. And knowing Porsche, would they not be the best in the business...?
re: Why the diesel 911 will never happen
Aside from being generally a bit bored with the general anti-SUV sentiment recently displayed in Autocar, I take exception to referring to the Cayenne as a "cod off-road" vehicle. It seems to me that you are suggesting that it is little more than a soft roader, when I seem to recall from launch that a Cayenne or Toureg with the right tyres is pretty much as capable as a similarly equipped Range Rover - now whether or not any owner will actually use it off road is entirely down to them, and they will pay the price in less than sports-car like dynamics and a hefty fuel bill.
You also fail to comment on the fact that the success of the Cayenne Porsche would be in a much weaker position than it is today, and probably wouldn't be able to field as many versions of their excellent sports cars as they do today.