Porsche Reduces Emissions With Out Turning Diesel

Stuttgart, Germany-based automobile manufacturer Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG announced at the Geneva Auto Show that starting as early as next year all Porsche models will comply with the strict EU5 emission standards set to go into effect September 2009 and at the same time will meet the currently defined EU6 standards before their scheduled September 2014 start date.

Porsche also shared that all Porsche engines used in its current sports cars and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) are able to run on fuel with an ethanol additive. Porsche's sports cars are designed to operate on gasoline with a 10 percent ethanol mix, while the 2008 Cayenne SUVs that now feature direct fuel injection are able to run on a fuel mixture with up to 25 percent ethanol. Porsche also is working on a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) able to run on both gasoline alone and on a mixture of up to 85 percent ethanol.

To further minimize fuel consumption and emissions, Porsche also is giving top priority to the development of a hybrid engine that the company is creating with the Volkswagen Group. This "full hybrid" combines a gasoline combustion engine with an electric motor. With this system, both power units can operate together and independently of one another, thus providing three different operating modes. The concept, which is planned for a future Cayenne SUV variant, will enter the market before the end of this decade. Porsche expects this alternative drive concept to further reduce fuel consumption by another 30 percent.

In addition to its efforts to reduce fuel consumption through the use of lightweight technology, VarioCam Plus valve management and direct fuel injection, Porsche's plans should significantly reduce CO2 emissions and nitric oxide in exhaust emissions while meeting the EU5 and EU6 standards ahead of time.