Cayenne S Hybrid Details Released
February 20, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
More information has just been released by Porsche on the new Cayenne S Hybrid that will finally launch in 2010. The company has changed up its powertrain plans since originally announcing the hybrid.
Instead of the older 3.6L normally aspirated V6, it will now use the new supercharged and direct injected 3.0L found in the new Audi S4 and A6. The 333 hp V6 is paired up with a 52 hp electric motor sandwiched between the engine and 8-speed automatic transmission. The combination of the engine, motor and nickel metal hydride battery can propel the Cayenne to 62 mph in 6.8 seconds. Read more
Electric Porsche 911 Faster 0-60 than Regular 911
January 4, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
A Florida based company is specialising in converting Porsches to electric power with very little loss in performance, any varying ranges depending on the weight of batteries you are willing to put up with. The company also specializes in making their electric Porsche’s resemble other cars, such as Lamborghini’s and even iconic Porsche racing cars, such as the 962 with over 2,600lb-ft (3,500Nm) of torque.
The company is EvPorsche, and it hopes to compete against companies like Tesla that are already producing their own electric sports cars, as well as Lotus, which is developing one. Read more
The Wheel Has Been Reinvented - Electric In-Wheel Motors
December 6, 2008 by admin · 3 Comments
The Michelin tire company is getting very close to releasing its electric wheel concept into commercially available cars. The company has been showing off versions of what they call “Active Wheel” since 2004. The system contains virtually all of the components necessary for a vehicle to propel or stop: an electric motor, suspension coils and springs, and braking components. It localizes the entire suspension, springs, dampers, geometry and all, plus an electric-drive motor and of course the brakes inside the envelope of the wheel, freeing all sorts of space for hauling passengers and luggage. The only thing missing is the source of energy. Read more
Porsche Order a Tesla Roadster
November 25, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Word on the street is that Porsche is developing its own electric car. According to Tesla Motors, officials from Porsche have been to look at their Roadster. It seems that they were interested enough to place an order for one of the electric sportscars. We can guess that they will use the car as a yardstick to compare with their own models, and of course dismantle it carefully just to see how Tesla make it work.
Hopefully the German carmaker will be able to produce something with the same longevity and versatility as their iconic 911.
Porsche Cayenne Hybrid Review
August 21, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
We just got our hands on the upcoming hybrid version of the Porsche Cayenne. It felt just like a regular Cayenne, but unfortunately doesn’t look any better. The four-door SUV is expected to be on the market by the end of the decade, the Stuttgart-based automaker said, a major move for the company in an increasingly carbon-conscious world.
The technology has been engineered so as not to compromise the Cayenne’s SUV abilities. Unlike the Lexus RX400h, which is not supposed to go off-road. The Cayenne Hybrid can still wade in 20 inches of water, it can still tow 7000 pounds. There’s still a full-size trunk above the battery compartment. The six-speed auto transmission also feels the same. It still accelerates like a regular Cayenne V-6 — in fact faster to 60 mph by about half a second. And with better torque, thanks to the electric motor’s contribution.
But gas mileage is about 20 percent better than usual. The prototypes are achieving 24.4 mpg in the US FTP cycle, versus 17.9 mpg for the standard V6 Cayenne. Porsche hopes to get this to 27 mpg by the time of production. Which will be about two years from now, following validation and durability testing.
The hybrid system is being engineered in concert with VW and Audi, and will also show up on their Touareg and Q7 SUVs, as well as, likely, future VW group sedans. The system is modular, so as to be installable in a range of platforms.
Crucially, it will also give Porsche a V6 hybrid Panamera sedan, which will allow it to claim a green version to compete against the upcoming wave of German high-performance clean diesels.
The system, which adds about 300 pounds in all, uses a donut-shaped 34-kilowatt electric motor sandwiched between the engine and the six-speed Tiptronic transmission. Between the electric motor and the V-6 is a clutch, operated automatically, to allow the engine to stop while the electric motor carries on. The battery — twice the size and power of a Prius’s, but a similar nickel metal hydride type — is under the trunk floor, in the spare wheel well. There’s also a transformer/inverter wedged under the hood.
Porsche’s hybrid principle of operation is pretty simple compared with Toyota’s. The electric motor turns at the same speed as the V-6, except for periods when the automatic clutch is open and the engine is stopped. If there’s enough charge in the battery the car can go along at highway speed on electric power alone, but the V-6 cuts in when charge gets low, powering the car and, because the motor becomes a generator when torque is applied to it, charging the battery at the same time. For max acceleration, the motor and engine both push the car in unison.
As the hybrid’s engine has no starter motor of its own, the clever bit is that the control electronics can start the V-6 by engaging the clutch, without a huge thud. To do that it has to engage the clutch while disengaging the torque converter lock-up, while adding fuel and spark to the engine, then dropping the power to the electric motor to compensate for the incoming torque from the V-6. It doesn’t sound simple, and it’s nowhere near as simple as it sounds. But in our test ride, the engine-starting process was as smooth as, say, a part-throttle upshift in the transmission.
As with all full hybrids, the motor also acts as a generator when you brake, charging the battery. This regenerative braking effect is strong enough in the Cayenne that driving smoothly through town you’ll hardly use the disc brakes at all. Clever electronics integrated in the ESP system split the braking effort between discs and regeneration, so all you need do is press the pedal as normal. Regeneration is the “free” energy that a full hybrid recovers, instead of using the brakes to turn kinetic energy through friction on the discs into wasted heat.
The battery is a nickel-metal hydride type, but Porsche is also working on a lithium-ion version. This would give better storage and a greater ability to absorb and deliver high current, implying further gas savings. But they don’t believe it can yet be made to work under the whole range of heat and cold. Porsche engineers concede that their hybrid system doesn’t save quite as much gas as the Toyota design or the GM/DCX “dual mode” when in town, but that, because of lower frictional losses in the system, it more than offsets this by being more efficient at highway speeds.
