Porsche to Offer a Hybrid in Every Range

The world’s automotive producers are forced to develop new solutions that will allow them to cut their average CO2 emissions by 2015. This is a delicate issue for sports vehicle makers, which now have to rethink their core values in order to make their cars greener.

One of these carmakers is Porsche, which has to reduce its CO2 emissions to 216 grams per kilometer from the current average value of 255 g/km.

The German automaker has established a special strategy for achieving this goal. The plan places hybrid technology at its center, as auto news reports.

The company’s head of development, Wolfgang Duerheimer, told the aforementioned source that Porsche wants all its future ranges to come with a hybrid alternative. Earlier this year, the Cayenne SUV received a hybrid version. The next model line to come with such a vehicle is the Panamera, which will receive the technology next year.

As for the automaker’s sports cars, these will follow an electrification pathway in the future. The first electric Porsche will be the 918 Spyder, which will enter limited production in the next three or four years. Porsche plans to use the vehicle as a test-bench that would allow the company to expand this technology to its future sport vehicles.

In addition to that, Porsche will also become a strong follower of the downsizing concept. The company is prepared to take extreme measures, such as using (turbocharged, direct-injected) four-cylinder powerplants. The company will also keep the weight of its future cars down, considering solutions such as carbon fiber body shells.