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Porsche made it all official today. New European regulations that result in tax credits for diesel vehicles have spurred the automaker to drop an oil-burner under the hood of the Cayenne starting in February, 2009. Audi's 3.0L TDI V6 gets the call and will give the Cayenne diesel 240 horsepower, a peak torque rating of 405 lb-ft and a 25 mpg fuel economy number. The all-important (in Europe) CO2 emissions number is 244 g/km. There are no visual indicators to distinguish the diesel from the gas-powered base Cayenne. You have to look under the hood, where the engine cover is emblazoned with "3.0 V6 Turbo Diesel Injection" if you're hell-bent on finding some branding.

Porsche 3.0 V6 Turbo DieselWhile the diesel Cayenne is a Europe-only model for now, Porsche pretty much says that other markets and countries are to follow. Will that include us? Who knows. You can bet that Stuttgart's going to keep tabs on how well Mercedes' new Bluetec trucks and Audi's forthcoming U.S.-market Q7 TDI do in the States before it makes a decision. We don't see them shipping over the Cayenne diesel unless it's pretty clear that it'll find an audience.


[Source: Porsche]