Fuel-stingy hybrid powertrains may not make a sports-car driver's heart leap, but that won't keep Porsche from offering the gasoline-electric power plants on its future models, starting with the Cayenne SUV and the swoopy new Panamera four-door.
Porsche's new relationship with Volkswagen -- the tiny sports car specialist is now the controlling stockholder in the massive automaker -- is the key. VW's size gives Porsche the volume to develop hybrids and whatever other technology the future demands, Porsche executive Bernd Harling told me in a shaded tent while five of the company's new sports cars zipped past us on the beautifully landscaped track last week at Barber Motorsports Park east of Birmingham, Ala.
"Going forward, Volkswagen is the key," Harling said. "Porsche's low volume means we're limited in our research and development. We must focus on what we can do best."
For the moment, that means high-output gasoline engines and superb handling, but the link with VW made the hybrids, both of which should go on sale in 2009, possible, and even opens the door to a possible Porsche diesel in the future.
Porsche did most of the engineering for VW's upcoming Audi Q7 hybrid SUV, as well as engineered the basic structure of the vehicle when it developed the Cayenne.
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