Report: Porsche to offer hybrid versions of every model

July 18th, 2013 by Road Test TV

Porsche 918 RSR Concept

There is no doubt that inevitably every sports car and supercar manufacturer will start using some sort of hybrid setup in their powertrains. Why? Currently, a sports car or supercar manufacturer has to pay a decent amount in government fines since their environmentally unfriendly vehicles omit a high-level of CO2 emissions. With the addition of hybrid or electric system in their powertrain, these high-performance vehicle manufacturers can reduce their CO2 emission levels across the lineup and also increase fuel-economy.

So does that mean we will have slower cars. Not exactly. Most manufacturers will start employing a hybrid or electric setup that will or can be used temporarily during driving. If you are just stuck in traffic or cruising along at a constant speed on the highway, you can turn on ECO mode for better fuel-economy. This will allow manufactures like Porsche to have a higher average fuel-economy across the lineup with a decrease in the CO2 emissions all the vehicles in their lineup omit. That in-turn will allow them to save some money when the government fines them for hurting mother nature.

Porsche is one of the first sports car or supercar manufactures to come out and say that a hybrid system will be deployed on each and every vehicle in its lineup. Of course, the addition of these fuel-saving technologies won’t hurt performance. In fact, the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid and the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid are actually a little quicker than their regular gasoline powered ‘S’ variants. Even the new Porsche 918 Spyder, which is the spiritual successor to the Carrera GT, employs a plug-in hybrid powertrain setup.

Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche is putting together a bunch of technology to increase fuel-efficiency of its vehicles including – and not limited to – plug-in hybrid systems or partial hybrid systems. Porsche is also putting together an induction charging system that can be installed in domestic garages.

There is no secret that Porsche is also working on 4-cylinder engines that will be fitted in the Cayman, Boxster as well as the 911. Who thought we would see the days where the 911 would start carrying 4-cylinder engines once again?

Leave a Reply