Fill A Porsche With THAT?
Porschephiles: How do you like the marvelous scent of diesel? You know, the stuff they sell at the big truck stops to those people with the big Mack trucks? Automotive News gives Porsche lovers heart palpitations with the news that Porsche is considering selling diesel versions in the United States.
The nameplates considered for oilburners are the Cayenne SUV and the Panamera. An oilburning Cayenne might be tolerable. There is a diesel Cayenne in Europe. Too bad it’s only a meek 3 liter engine. There is a 4.2 V8 TDI from the Touareg that produces so much torque (800 Nm) that there is a computer in the transmission that keeps it from being ripped apart. That could do well here.
But a diesel Panamera? Why not a diesel 911? There is no diesel Panamera in Europe – yet. Automotive News has heard that diesel and gasoline-electric hybrid versions of the Panamera might be shown in Geneva, with a summer introduction in Europe.
This is no idle chatter. “We are discussing internally if we should introduce the Cayenne diesel in the U.S. this year. Also a Panamera diesel is an option,” Bernhard Maier, Porsche’s sales and marketing chief, told Automotive News.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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"A Diesel Porsche? Why, Jack Baruth must be rolling over in his grave." "Psst, Mr. Baruth is not dead." "What? He's not dead? Really?" "Yes." "Are you sure?" "Definitely." "Oh. Well, if he were dead he'd definitely be rolling in his grave. Definitely."
Will they be air cooled?
Well, my father once owned a piece of construction equipment, a compactor, that was powered by an air-cooled Deutz diesel engine. It was a v-configuration; I don't remember the number of cylinders. I remember it being quite trouble-free.
Deutz make some real good diesel air cooled engines.