Porsche Cayenne 2.0 to be made in Bratislava

Porsche Cayenne 2.0

Details of the second-generation Porsche Cayenne have been leaked out two months before the upmarket four-wheel drive’s public unveiling at the Geneva motor show. This is also going to be made in Bratislava, Slovakia's capital city along with VW's new hit series of UP! cars.

The information brings to light the all-new-for-2010 Cayenne’s five-strong range of engines, including the first details on the new petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain it will share with the second-generation Volkswagen Touareg, alongside which it has once again been conceived, developed and engineered.

As with its predecessor, the second-generation Cayenne will continued be manufactured at parent company Volkswagen’s factory in Bratislava, Slovakia alongside the new Volkswagen Touareg and existing Audi Q7.

Porsche will also continue offering its new four-wheel drive system with the choice of three petrol engines – all updated versions of the units used in the outgoing first-generation model. They include a 296bhp 3.6-litre V6 in the entry level Cayenne, a 395bhp naturally aspirated 4.8-litre V8 in the mid-range Cayenne S and a range-topping 493bhp turbocharged 4.8-litre V8 in the top-of-the-line Cayenne Turbo.

Also planned from the outset of UK sales in May is a successor to the Cayenne Diesel running a lightly modified version of the existing model’s Volkswagen-developed 237bhp 3.0-litre V6.

Porsche Cayenne Hybrid

The big news, however, is Porsche’s decision to add a Cayenne Hybrid to its ranks as part of efforts to give its new four-wheel drive a more environmentally friendly image than its predecessor. Set to form an integral part of the new line-up, it uses an Audi developed 328bhp supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine in combination with a 46bhp electric motor that draws energy from a lithium ion battery mounted within spare wheel well in the floor of the boot. It's an arrangement that will be mirrored in the upcoming Panamera Hybrid. Official Porsche figures put combined reserves at 375bhp – or just 20bhp shy of the Cayenne S.

All second-generation Cayenne models will receive a new eight-speed automatic boasting an automatic stop/start function as well as brake energy regeneration as standard. Porsche claims fuel consumption has been reduced by up to 23 per cent, with three of the five new Cayenne models registering better than 28mpg on the combined European cycle.

More specific is its claim for the new Cayenne Hybrid, which Porsche says returns an impressive 34.5mpg, making it the most fuel efficient model in the entire Porsche line-up while endowing it with a CO2 emission rating under 200g/km.