The German automaker Porsche is already offering a 3.0 Liter V6 diesel option for the Cayenne SUV. However, the sports car maker is also considering a diesel powered Panamera sometime in the near future. "There are V6 and V8 diesels within the VW Group that could be used as a basis."
This means the company might add either same 240 HP 3.0 Liter V6 from the Cayenne, or even the 322 HP 4.2 Liter V8 alternatively fueled diesel borrowed from the Audi A8 thanks to the new Porsche VW alliance.
Next to a greener Panamera, Porsche is preparing a top of the line version of the four door super car that will sit above the current Turbo version and will be the equivalent to a Cayenne GTS.
The German variant of General Motors, Opel, has already released a green version of their popular four door Insignia model wearing the ecoFLEX badge, but that was it. Well now there is good news for fans of environmentally friendly wagons and estates, because Opel has just announced that their ecoFLEX Insignia will soon be available as a Sports Tourer.
The green five door is powered by a 2.0 Liter CDTI engine with the Clean Tech System producing 160 HP and an impressive 280 lb-ft of torque. The fuel efficient diesel burning drive train is complimented by a six speed manual transmission, complete with a higher final drive to allow highway cruising at lower engine speeds. The result is a Sports Tourer that can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 9.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 133.5 MPH, if those numbers don’t seem too impressive, than consider the vehicle’s fuel mileage of 44 MPG.
If only drivers here in the U.S. could learn to appreciate different things like sports wagons and diesel burning power plants. If we hadn’t attached such a lasting stigma to either of those two items then maybe we could enjoy a spirited ride in an ecoFLEX Insignia Sports Tourer, try getting that kind of performance and economy from a gasoline powered vehicle.
Volkswagen UK added to its line-up the most fuel efficient Tuareg in its line-up: a BlueMotion version powered by a 3.0-litre V6 TDI common rail diesel engine which develops 225 PS and 550 Nm of torque.
The Touareg BlueMotion has a fuel economy of 34.0 mpg on the combined cycle (down from 30.4 mpg), and CO2 emissions are cut to just 219 g/km, down from 244 g/km. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds and has a top speed of 126 mph.
Prices start from £34,150 on the road RRP for the entry level model and rise to £37,545 for the SE.
Volkswagen is proving that you don’t have to purchase a hybrid in order to drive a green car. That is the idea behind the German automotive manufacturer’s alternatively fueled 2009 Jetta TDI. Our car came equipped with a 2.0 Liter turbo diesel power plant making 140 HP and 236 lb-ft of torque and still gets and EPA estimated 40 MPG on the highway when connected to our car’s DSG gearbox. Starting out at a little over $22,000 the VW Jetta TDI is an affordable alternative to other environmentally friendly vehicles. Our Reflex Silver Metallic four door medium sized sedan rode on a set of stylish 16 inch alloy wheels and aside from the TDI badge on the trunk, this Jetta looked just like any other Jetta in the VW family.
The interior was filled with goodies like CLIMATIC air conditioning, V-Tex leatherette comfort seats and a 6 disc CD changer with auxiliary input jack for all your MP3 needs. One of the nicer features that comes with our TDI, or any new Jetta for that matter, is 24 hour road side assistance for the first 3 years or 36,000 miles of ownership. Not to mention that thanks to the new common rail fuel delivery system, the Jetta TDI is the only diesel in the U.S. that meets the strict European Tier II Bin 5 emissions requirements without the aid of any additional additive, that is the equivalent of being an LEV II rating from the California Air Resources Board. Coming in at $25,070 the Volkswagen Jetta TDI is a pretty good price to pay for such a well finished, economical and fun to drive package.
ABT Sportsline is used to building entrants for Gemany’s DTM racing series, but are never too busy to tune any product out of the Audi catalog. When the tuners found out that the luxury carmaker was putting a turbocharged diesel V12 in the Q7, they couldn’t wait to turn up the boost. Output is up to 560 HP, from the factory 500 HP; and torque has been increased to 885 lb-ft from the standard 737.5 lb-ft of twist. The full size Audi SUV can now go from 0 to 60 MPH in just 5.3 seconds. Not bad for an alternatively fueled tuner truck.
Volkswagen revealed today at the Auto Mobil International in Leipzig the diesel brother of the Golf GTI: the GTD Golf, a car that is all about efficiency.
The GTD is powered by a 2,0 liter TDI engine that delivers 170 hp at 4,200 rpm and a peak torque of 350 NM between 1,750 and 2,500 rpm. It makes the 0 to 62 mph sprint in 8.1 seconds and can hit a top speed of 137 mph. It has a fuel consumption of only 5.3 liters per 100 km and a CO2 emission of only 139 g/km. The engine comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission, while the optional 6-speed DSG comes as an option.
On the exterior the GTD comes with bumper, radiator grille and headlights exactly like in the GTI, while the red horizontal stripes in the radiator grille are styled in chrome on the GTD. At the rear, the turbo-diesel sports a modified diffuser. You can recognize the GTD by the dual chrome tailpipes on the left side of the diffuser.
Back at the Detroit Auto Show, Audi revealed their V12 TDI R8, a concept that celebrated Audi’s continued success with the alternative fuel in prototype racing with the R10 and now R15 endurance racers. The TDI concept also served as a preview for the future turbo diesel supercar. But due to the current economic situation, it doesn’t look like Audi will be taking any risks in the near future.
The Audi R8 V12 TDI concept is powered by a 5.5 Liter turbo diesel engine inspired by their original diesel racecar, the R10. The engine in the R8 concept produces a max output of 500 HP and a peak torque of almost 740 lb-ft. The concept could sprint to 60 MPH in only 4.2 seconds.
An Audi insider said that engineering a production version involved modifying the chassis in order to accommodate the V12 TDI power plant as opposed to the standard model, a cost that would be too expensive to pass along to the consumer.
Performance diesels are nothing new for the European market, across the Atlantic they love the more affordable fuel prices and longer ranges provided by the alternative fueled machines. Volkswagen has already answered this call with the high performance Golf GTD, a diesel burning alternative to the GTI. So the next step for the German automaker would be to release a diesel version of their latest sports hatch, the Scirocco.
The Volkswagen Scirocco GT TDI is powered by a 2.0 Liter TDI engine that produces a maximum output of 165 HP and a potent 258 lb-ft of torque. The alternatively fueled Scirocco can sprint from a standstill to 60 MPH in about 8 seconds and will reach a top speed of 140 MPH. All while returning about 53 MPG in mixed highway and city driving.
The Scirocco GT TDI has just been released in the British market, while we here in the U.S. are still awaiting the vehicles arrival, in any way shape or form.
Volkswagen has just revealed their first promotional video hyping the new Golf GTD, a diesel version of the stunning GTI. The Volkswagen Golf GTD is powered by a 2.0 Liter turbo diesel power plant that makes only 170 HP at 4,200 RPM but torque is up to 260 lb-ft between 1,750 and 2,500 rpm. This alternatively fueled GTI makes the 0 to 60 MPH sprint in just 8.1 seconds and has a top speed of 140 MPH.
The French carmakers Citroen unveiled their Hypnos concept car at the Paris Auto Show and making it a reality means it will become world’s first fully functional diesel hybrid when it goes in to production in 2011. The Hypnos’s drivetrain will be based around a conventional 200 HP 2.0 Liter turbodiesel driving the front wheels. While a 50 HP electric motor provides additional thrust for the rear rollers. A combination that Citroen claims will return 62.7 MPG.
At the moment nickel hydride batteries are powering the electric motors, but the next generation is lined up to receive a set of more environmentally friendly lithium ion batteries. Citroen hopes that this hybrid setup can be applied to gasoline engines as well.
In an interview with AutoCar, Frederic Poil, the man in charge of Citroen’s hybrid powertrain project, was quoted saying that "With this combination we believe it is possible to build a car with the fuel consumption and emissions of a 1.6-liter engine, but the power of a 3.0-liter engine."
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