Quash the electric Cayman rumor. Ruf Automobiles has a long history of taking already fast sports cars from Porsche and making them extraordinarily fast. That typically happens by means of adding more displacement, more boost, more fuel etc. Now, founder Alois Ruf is taking inspiration from the hydroelectric power station in his home town to create a battery-powered 911. The traditional 911 flat-6 engine has been dispensed with in favor of a 204 hp electric motor that generates 479 lb-ft of torque. Ruf worked with Camarillo, CA CALMOTORS on the motor and battery integration for this first concept. Energy storage is handled by lithium iron phosphate batteries supplied by Axeon. The combined capacity of the 96 cell system is 50.7 kWh and the charge time is 10 hours. That's enough to give an estimated range of 150-200 miles although it's not clear what kind of driving style it would take to achieve that. That 1,200 lb battery pack means the 4,200 lb eRuf concept weighs about 1,000 lbs more than a regular 911. The instant torque of the electric motor means the electric Porsche should be able to accelerate to 60 mph in under seven seconds. That's neither regular 911 nor Tesla territory, but Ruf will surely find ways to cut the mass. No word from Ruf on when or if it will ever offer this car to customers but if someone comes along with an inordinate amount of disposable cash, Ruf will probably replicate this car.


[Source: Ruf]

The tenth running of the Petit Le Mans took place on Saturday and along with celebrating a decade of the American Le Mans Series it also marked the debut of the ALMS Green Challenge. For those of you that TIVO'ed the race you can come back later. The rest of you can follow the jump to see who won.

[Source: American Le Mans Series]

The possible electric Porsche Cayman, the one-off conversion of the MIIN-AER, an old 911 EV conversion. There's certainly no lack of people who like the looks of a Porsche but want to make the vehicle a lot clener. While there's no official battery-powered EV coming from Porsche, the company is willing to offer us vehicles that have "More Power on Less Fuel."

That's the tagline for the latest release from the team from Stuttgart as they ready their vehicles for the Paris Motor Show. The highlight is Direct Fuel Injection across the entire range of 911 models, models that are suited for EU5 and LEV II emission standards. Details on the "more power" angle after the break. This isn't the greenest car company around, but we'll take their lowered emissions for now while we wait for them to change their piggish ways.


[Source: Porsche]

As I wrote on Thursday, one of the more interesting vehicles here at the Alt Car Expo is a one-off home conversion of a 1999 Porsche Boxster called the MIIN-AER car. We wanted to get some more information about this thing, so we talked to Glenn Bell, CEO of Air Fuel Auto. Bell talked about why he's in favor of compressed air - wait, actually
the Minimally Intrusive Intensely Pneumatic - Air Energy Recovery (the N in pneumatic contributes its sound to MIIN, not the P) system - and how the powerplant in the air Porsche is quite different than what is used in MDI's AirCar. For the public details on the MIIN-AER system, click here or follow us past the jump, but the basic idea is that compressed air (or nitrogen) is sent through the system based on temperature differences. I'll admit I don't fully get the technology, but Bell said he takes the air Porsche for a lot of test drives, so it apparently works.

What's in the Porsche at the show is phase 1 of the MIIN-AER technology. Bell said that the current specs are 40-45 miles per hour with a range of 50 miles (this differs from the press release's claim of 50 miles at 65 mph).
in phase 2, which is designed but not yet installed, the system will recompress the air and will capture the thermal energy from braking to give better performance. Will have a top speed of 80, phase three will have a speed of 100-120 mph. In each of the phases, the range will increase by "a little bit" until the car can go 100 miles at 50 mph in phase three.

As for why compressed air instead of li-ion, Bell said that the rarity and geographic location of the precious metals required for next-generation batteries have the potential to trade one set of issues (the problems with oil) with another set (the recent increase in lithium and cobalt prices, for example). He didn't give a numerical answer when I asked how much a MIIN-AER conversion would cost. Bell didn't express a lot of confidence in the path that Tesla or GM is on, but I suppose that are plenty of people who don't have a lot of confidence in Bell's strategy, either. Bell said he'd be willing to license his technology, so the proof will be in the pudding. Any thoughts?

Have a listen:

German mag Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that longtime Porsche tuning specialist Ruf is planning to debut an all-electric version of the awesome Cayman sportscar. Could it be? An electric sportscar that isn't based on a platform from Lotus? We'll see next month, as that's when Ruf is scheduled to debut the new car. Initial specs indicate an electric motor with 150 kW of power. For comparison, the Tesla's latest motor offers up a bit more power, 185 kW to be specific. Still, there is much more than that figure that goes into determining overall performance. Ruf indicates that its new EV will offer peak torque of 650 Nm, much higher than Tesla's 375. Our very own Sam Abuelsamid suggests that Ruf may use a multi-geared transmission to attain its top speed of 200 kph, or about 125 miles per hour. Range is expected to be over 150 miles via a lithium ion battery pack. In any case, we are super excited to see what the German tuners have in store for us come next month.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]

We have had quite a series of stories from Porsche regarding its "issues" adapting to greener motoring. With that in mind, listen to this: Porsche might be thinking of installing 4-cylinder engines into some models. Well, to be precise, Thomas Krickelberg, Porsche's head of powertrain development, has revealed that the six-cylinder engines found in the 911 had been designed so that they could have the number of cylinders reduced to cope with the EU's CO₂ regulations. How will the sports cars keep their power? Think of what Subaru does with its boxer turbocharged engines. Porsche's rumored downsizing is something we've heard before, though.

This type of downsizine is, more or less, what the Porsche 912 was about in the '70s. Porsche twice offered 4 cylinder engines for this model: as the entry version from 1965 to 1969, using the 4-flat "inherited" from the 356, and then again in 1976 as the 912E (refresh your memory about the "E" here) with a 2.0-liter aircooled engine. Hey, we even found an electric version of this one!

[Source: Motor Authority]

German magazine AutoBild is reporting that Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking has finally confirmed that a diesel powered Cayenne will indeed appear in 2009. Porsche has long denied that would build a diesel powered vehicle because it would be out of character for the brand. This is of course a bogus argument since the Cayenne itself is out of character. We've previously seen spy photos of Cayennes being fueled at diesel pumps in northern Sweden. The Cayenne diesel get the same 3.0L TDI diesel V6 that's going into the VW Touareg and Audi Q7. The 240 hp V6 is expected to yield 24.5 mpg (US). The hybrid Cayenne will arrive a year later using a lithium ion battery in place of the nickel metal hydride battery that was shown in the prototype at the LA Auto Show last fall.


[Source: AutoBild via German Car Blog]

From track to road and back to track again. That is the path for gasoline direct fuel injection. In the late 90s Audi added direct injection to its R8 Le Mans prototype in order to get more power while consuming less fuel. In racing reducing fuel consumption is important because it allows cars to run farther between pit stops spending more time on the track. Direct injection eventually migrated into most of Audi's production engines along with those from parent company Volkswagen. After adding direct injection to the Cayenne GTS and 2009 911, Porsche is now migrating that same technology back to its own race program. The Porsche RS Spyders debuted a new direct injected version of the 3.4L V8 two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio and won the LMP2 class. The output of the DI engine went from 476 hp to 503 hp while fuel consumption dropped. Porsche is not saying how much it went down, but they are evidently still developing the system and optimizing it. For example the engines now run extremely lean under light loads greatly reducing consumption in a manner that would not be possible with a port fuel injection system. In coming years we will be seeing virtually all gas engines migrating to direct injection.

[Source: Porsche]

We've been following the on-again, off-again news of the upcoming hybrid and diesel powertrain options on Porsche's Panamera, which is scheduled to go on sale starting next year. It seems that the hybrid is a lock and will be equipped with a 3.6-liter V6 engine offering 300 horsepower along with an extra hundred horsies from the electric motor. While that engine and motor combo will likely make the Porsche an extremely fast hybrid, rumor has it that the driver will be able to selectively choose how much power to extract from either power source. If this holds true, the Panamera hybrid sounds a heck of a lot more interesting today that it did just yesterday.

The other possible alternative powertrain for the Panamera is a diesel engine. While the Cayenne will get the 3.0L diesel engine from Audi, the Panamera could double that cylinder count by being bestowed with Audi's mammoth 6.0L V12 TDI, which punches out 500 horsepower along with an incredible 758 lb-ft of torque. In Audi's large Q7 SUV, that powerplant manages nearly 20 miles per gallon, and it should do considerably better in the low-slung Panamera if it indeed finds its way underhood. Expect all of these options to come at a high cost, as the normal six-cylinder Panamera is expected to fetch $127,000 and the higher spec. turbo V8 model will go for nearly $200 grand. Sounds like the upcoming four door Porsche hybrid will require very deep pockets.

[Source: Inside Line]

Cleangreencars.co.uk has awarded BMW as the "cleanest premium manufacturer" in Great Britain. Their report found that total model range CO₂ emissions from January 2008 to June 2008 at BMW averaged 161.64g/km. BMW's competitors all achieved worse figures. For instance Audi and Mercedes were 177.36g/km and 192.85g/km respectively. Lexus, with its hybrid-based model line-up, managed an average of 194.85g/km, while Jaguar topped 200g/km and Porsche recorded 275.64g/km. BMW's MINI brand had an average of 139.64g/km.

According to BMW's press release (which you can find after the jump), both the EfficientDynamics and the MINImalism program have reduced emissions while keeping up driving dynamics. BMW also said that it's preparing NOx storage capability within a catalytic converter on certain models in the near future and that it was finalizing drivetrain configurations to meet the likely EU6 legislation due to come into effect in 2014.

[Source: BMW]

Click above for more shots of this Porsche 911 EV conversion

Sometimes, we find various electric vehicle conversions on eBay to share with our readers. In many cases, the cars are in pretty sorry condition and the work which was done is highly suspect. In the case of this 1973 Porsche 911, though, everything done to the vehicle has been well documented in an online diary. There are also over forty pictures of the completed vehicle including every single dent and paint scratch. Most impressive. The EV conversion was officially started in late '93 and officially finished in late '96. Three years went into the removal of the engine and its related bits along with the addition of a DC electric motor along with 96 volts of lead-acid batteries. A bit later, the voltage was increased to 120, which yielded almost ten miles of range. Yeah... that's bad.

The good news, if it could be called that, is that the brakes were and are dragging, which is not helping performance at all. With a little work and some new batteries, this Porsche EV could be back on the road and getting somebody to work. Take a look at all the pics in our gallery, read the entire diary here and see the car's dedicated website here. Thanks for the tip, Dustin!


[Source: eBay Motors]

We're still not sure if Porsche's first production hybrid model will be the Cayenne SUV or Panamera sedan but we do know what the Panamera hybrid logo will look like. Porsche has registered the logo and trademark for the Panamera hybrid with the EU agency that handles trade and design marks known as OHIM. The logo uses a similar script to the one that Porsche has used for several decades. The Panamera hybrid is expected to debut in late 2009. Like the prototype Cayenne hybrid Porsche showed in 2007, the sedan will pair up a Volkswagen 3.6L V6 with an electric drive motor. The motor is mounted at the rear axle and reportedly able to propel the vehicle on battery power alone at steady state speeds of 70 mph. Thanks to Christian for the tip!

[Source: Autoblog.it, via German Car Blog]

The battle over a proposed £25 Congestion Charge increase that would have been socked to big, dirty vehicles entering London is over. Porsche was the lead opponent of this fee increase, and announced the win on its Judicial Review website. I guess Porsche's huge PR campaign worked. Back when Ken Livingstone, who came up with the £25 congestion charge proposal, was still Mayor of London, the city announced that the majority was in favor of it. Porsche had other data.

The new mayor, Boris Johnson, was never in favor of the new C-Charge, so it's not a huge surprise that it's been scraped. He said he hopes the city will now institute a 'fairer and more effective' Congestion Charge. The agency responsible for the Congestion Charge, Transport for London, will now need to pay Porsche's legal bills. Porsche has said it will donate the money to Skidz, an anti-crime charity. h/t to TheRookie.

[Source: Porsche, What Car?, Times Online]

AutoWeek apparently has it on good authority that Porsche has plans for a diesel engine not just for its Cayenne Sport Utility, but also for its upcoming sedan, the Panamera. The Panamera will assuredly be getting a gasoline engine, perhaps mirroring the Cayenne's V6 and V8 options, and will also be equipped with an optional hybrid drivetrain which will likely feature the direct-injected 3.6 liter V6 engine. Porsche had been hesitant to offer an oil-burner in its range of sportscars, but perhaps the sedan would benefit from the increased fuel mileage a diesel engine would offer.

We don't know what diesel engine is slated for the Panamera, but the Cayenne will be getting a 3.0 liter turbo diesel V6 engine from Audi, so that seems a distinct possibility for the sedan as well. Porsche could also choose an Audi diesel V8 engine or even the Volkswagen diesel V10 or 6.0-liter Audi diesel V12 if they fit underhood. Also spinning in the rumormill are Focus-like fender vents and a targa top.

[Source: Autoweek]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Porsche 911

Stopping an engine when it's not necessary for the operation of the car seems like a common sense move when fuel efficiency and emissions are the main concern. When performance is the biggest priority, though, the added weight and complexity of a stop-start system might not be worth it, at least not for drivers interested in the Porsche 911. Instead, Porschephiles would prefer that their sports cars remain as pure as possible, which means a powerful but conventional flat-six engine at the rear of the vehicle. That said, Porsche does intend to a good number of PDK dual-clutch transmissions as opposed to the traditional three-pedal setup, which seems contrary to the mission of a pure drivers car. Porsche also looks to improve overall efficiency by reducing the weight of its Boxster and 911.

On the other hand, stop-start technology seems like a no-brainer for less-sporty vehicles like the Cayenne and the upcoming Panamera, which are also likely to be given a full hybrid drivetrain as an option. Diesels, long the bane of the Porsche aficionado, are also in the works for upcoming Porsche models.

[Source: CAR via Autoblog]