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Porsche Announces Cayenne Diesel for Europe


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ATLANTA, November 20, 2008: Today Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG announced that the Stuttgart based sports car manufacturer will expand its current SUV line-up and offer a Cayenne with a diesel engine from February 2009 on. This is in response to changed legal regulations especially in European markets, resulting in tax incentives for vehicles with diesel engines. Porsche's stake in the Volkswagen Group, the world's largest manufacturer of modern diesel engines for passenger cars, has opened up new opportunities to utilize diesel technology.

The Porsche Cayenne Diesel will be powered by a three-liter V6 turbo diesel engine with 240 hp (176 kW) supplied by Audi AG, a subsidiary of the VW Group. A six-speed Tiptronic transmission will be standard. The average consumption is 9.3 liters per 100 kilometers, with CO2 at 244 grams per kilometer. The instant throttle response and the high torque characteristics (max. 550 Newton meters) of this particular diesel engine are a suitable fit for the athletic Cayenne offering driving enjoyment that is typical of Porsche.

In response to customer demand, the new Cayenne model will initially be offered solely in Europe. Currently, there are no plans to market the Cayenne Diesel in the United States.

The Porsche Executive Board is confident that adding the low-consumption V6 turbo diesel will contribute to the long term market success of the Cayenne series. In the last financial year 2007/08, 45,478 units of the Cayenne line-up (which currently incorporates five different models) were sold -- more than ever before in a financial year.

With the introduction of the Cayenne Diesel, Porsche is continuing its commitment to reduce fuel consumption. As early as spring 2007, the sports car manufacturer had introduced the new Cayenne generation with engines with direct fuel injection that consume up to 15 percent less fuel in real-world driving conditions than the previous models. Since the summer of 2008, Porsche is offering the latest generation of the 911 series with DFI engines. The sports car manufacturer is also working on another Cayenne variant with hybrid drive that will consume less than nine liters of fuel per 100 kilometers and will come to market at the end of the decade.