Infiniti describes it as the “fastest accelerating full hybrid” car currently available on the market, and the nice people from the Guinness Book Of Records have now put that down on paper too, so here is a video issued by the Japanese carmaker that celebrates the accomplishment. We are talking about the M35h which, relying on electric power alone, registered a 0-100 mph (161 km/h) sprint time of 11.54 seconds, covering the quarter mile (402 meters) in 13.41 seconds. Apparently, these figures were enough to rank the M35h at the top of the hybrid world, even better than the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid, which is credited with a 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 6 seconds flat.

The Infiniti M35h is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 producing 306 hp that, combined with a 68 hp electric motor, provides an output of 364 hp. The Porsche Panamera S Hybrid instead comes with a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 delivering 333 hp that, combined with the electric package, produces a total output of 333 hp.

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The Porsche Panamera diesel is on its way, announced by Porsche president Matthias Muller in an interview with German magazine, Westfalen-Blatt. The Panamera diesel should be ready as early as the second half of 2011 and will expand the range, which will also include a future Panamera hybrid expected to appear next year as well.

The Porsche Panamera diesel will build on the success of the Cayenne diesel, although no technical details have been released. The same mechanics of the Cayenne will probably be used in a large part though, likely extending to the 3.0 TDI V6 engine with 240 hp and 550 Nm of torque. The new Porsche diesel will probably use the eight-speed Tiptronic S gearbox and early calculations suggest acceleration time to 100 km/hr could be around seven seconds.

Clearly the Panamera diesel development is part of the Porsche Intelligent Performance program - the fancy name given to the project of reducing fuel consumption across the Porsche range. Porsche has managed to reduce some of its consumption already, with the Cayenne down by 23 percent, the 911 down by 16 and the Boxster and Cayman managing a 15 percent reduction. This has been managed by a combination of direct injection, Start&Stop technology and weight reduction. The expanding Porsche range will also include the famous baby SUV Porsche Cajun, which will share the Audi Q5 platform and will debut in 2014 or 2015.

Source | Westfalen-Blatt via Autoblog.it

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In order to reduce overall CO2 emissions across the Porsche range, the company is planning at least one hybrid drivetrain in every model line. There is already a Porsche Cayenne hybrid and the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid proves that they can make whopping sports cars with hybrid technology, although there are no plans in the near future to go to production across the coupé line.

The Porsche Cayenne hybrid will be joined by a Panamera hybrid sometime in 2011 and which will use the same platform as the SUV. The only electric-powered sports car to appear at this stage will be the 918 Spyder which will have a smaller production run and should appear in three to four years’ time.

While the 911, Boxster and Cayman are currently off the list, development manager at Porsche, Wolfgang Duerheimer said: “We want to learn how we can electrify all our sports cars in the future with the help of this short production run.” No time frame has been given for those models, but the hybrid roll-out plan is to meet the goal of reducing CO2 emissions to 216 g/km by 2015, from 255 now.

Other measures being considered are the use of smaller, four-cylinder engines and lighter-weight vehicles. The use of carbon fibre will likely spread across the Porsche range, saving around 50 kg on each new model. It’s a big challenge for a brand like Porsche, and it will be interesting to see just how it tackles the problems in coming years. Still, it’s good to see the investment being made while still keeping to the brand’s core values. Aston produced the Cygnet, Porsche is going hybrid….

Source | AutomotiveNews

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