Porsche: no 911 or Macan hybrid

Porsche is proud of its three-car plug-in hybrid range. Incorporating 918, Cayenne and Panamera, it's the biggest on the car market. But don't expect it to grow in the near future.

We questioned Porsche's hybrid powertrain manager Manfred Schürmann at the launch of the new Cayenne S E-Hybrid, a car whose powertrain is a transplant from the Panamera of the same name. Surely squeezing it into the Macan would make hybrid ownership more attainable?

"The packaging is impossible for the Macan", Schürmann told us. "This system is too big."

But surely a downsized, next-generation system would fit the Macan brand at least as well as the Cayenne's? "For sure, a hybrid system will fit, but a decision has not yet been made about a hybrid version of the Macan. It's an open question. No development is taking place at the moment."

And what of the long-rumoured 911 hybrid? Given the multitudinous models of Porsche's oldest sports car, and the high praise bestowed upon the rather more expensive 918 Spyder, it would seem a natural place to bring the hybrid sports car to the masses. Especially with the rather brilliant new BMW i8 drawing its line in the sand.

Not just yet, though, a spokesman tells us. Porsche bosses wouldn't rule out the arrival of a 911 hybrid within the next 15 years, but told us the current 991-generation 911 won't get plug-in tech. It looks unlikely for the generation that replaces it, too. Sports car fans: is that good news or bad?