The Porsche Cayenne is cleaning up its act! The second generation of the popular SUV has been spied testing ahead of a planned 2010 launch, eight years after the brand’s most controversial model first hit our streets.
Porsche is acknowledging spiralling fuel costs and a falling demand for heavy polluters by adding a hybrid and a diesel to the lineup. The petrol-electric hybrid is expected to be a V8 and will be shared with the Panamera super-saloon, due next year, while the oil-burner will most likely be the 3.0-litre V6 unit found in the Cayenne’s sister-car, the Audi Q7.
A diesel could give Porsche around 15,000 extra sales a year, as well as answering the critics - it is the most polluting mainstream manufacturer, with an average CO2 output of 275.6g/km across its range. Cleaning up the Cayenne should see this drop significantly.
The mule spotted out testing is heavily disguised and looks strikingly similar to the current model, although the bodywork appears sleeker both front and back, while the windscreen and rear window look more steeply raked. Despite it's range of abilities, Porsche accepts that most Cayennes won't be used for mud-plugging, so the new car is expected to be a lot more road-focused.
Porsche wants to rush out the second generation Cayenne before the demand for high performance SUVs completely drops. Its other sibling, the Volkswagen Touareg, is due by the end of 2010, but the Audi Q7 is still fresh so it won’t be replaced until around 2013. A smaller SUV from Porsche, based on the Audi Q5 platform, is also said to be in development – codenamed the Roxster.