Porsche promises hybrids across the range to placate EU eco demands

Porsche isn't best known for its environmental friendliness, but the German company is planning to change all that by equipping every single one of its cars with an optional hybrid engine.

This bombshell comes straight from the mouth of Porsche development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer, who said, "In the future we will have hybrid drive in every model line," Automotive News reports. Looks like someone's been popping hippie pills.

Porsche already has a hybrid version of its Cayenne SUV available to buy, and has stated its intention to release a hybrid powertrain for its Panamera four-door supercar. It's also wowed us with the beautiful and scarily fast 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid, which promises spine-twisting performance, low emissions and high economy.

We can't help but be slightly disturbed, however, by the thought of a part-electric, part petrol Porsche 911. Hell, even a hybrid Boxster gives us the willies -- it hardly seems right.

We shouldn't blame Porsche for this handbrake turn. The company's radical shift towards hybrid propulsion systems is merely a reaction to the EU's demands for car manufacturers to have average carbon emissions of 130g/km across their entire fleet.

Given the fact that most of Porsche's cars chuck out in excess of 220g of CO2 per kilometre, it needs to act swiftly and hybrids could prove a quick fix. After all, adoption of a hybrid powertrain helped reduce the Cayenne S's emissions from 245g/km to 193g/km and boosted combined fuel economy from 26.9mpg to 34.4mpg.

Hybrid tech isn't all organic peaches and ethically sourced cream though. Those who invested in the hybrid Cayenne S found themselves paying nearly £4,000 more for the privilege and it's unlikely hybrid versions of the 911, Boxster, Cayenne and Panamera will come cheap.

Still, it could be worse. Porsche could have gone the Aston Martin route and reduced its average emissions by re-badging a small Toyota.

What say you? Are hybrids the way forward for sports cars? Would you pay more for an eco-friendly Porsche? Does Porsche even care if you buy their hybrid cars or is it simply making them available to get the EU off its enormous German back? Let us know in the comments below.