Porsche Shakes Up The Cayenne even further

the Cayenne S Hybrid, which will be introduced in North America next year. It will combine a supercharged three-liter V-6 engine (333 horsepower/324 pound-feet of torque) with an electric motor (52 horsepower/221 pound-feet of torque) placed between the engine and the eight-speed automatic transmission.

Porsche says the Cayenne S Hybrid can vault from a stop to 60 miles an hour in about 6.5 seconds and be able to coast for up to 1.2 miles at 86 mph using only the electric motor. It expects the hybrid powerplant to get slightly better fuel mileage than the diesel engine.

Among the quarter million sport-utility vehicles sold since 2002, more than 85,000 Cayennes have been delivered to U.S. and Canadian customers since their introduction. In addition to North America, Porsche considers China, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East to be important future markets.

The Porsche SUV lineup in North America has grown to five models - Cayenne, Cayenne S, Cayenne GTS, Cayenne Turbo and Cayenne Turbo S. All powered by gasoline engines, they range in power from a 290-horsepower V-6 to a 550-horsepower turbocharged V-8.

Porsche has no current plans to sell a diesel Cayenne in the United States, but says it will consider it if there is sufficient consumer interest.

When Cayenne No. 1 was built in 2002, some Porsche purists rolled their eyes in dismay and a few probably still harbor lingering doubts about the very idea of a Porsche SUV, particularly one with some Volkswagen DNA embedded in its Porsche genes.

But Porsche has shown the hand wringers to be shortsighted. The Cayenne has been well received from the start and profits have allowed the company to expand, upgrade and improve its model lineup