It’s been nearly three years since German sports car manufacturer, Porsche, started talking about plans to build a hybrid, and based on recent news, it may be another 2-3 years before that happens.  In a recent article from the New York Times, Lawrence Ulrich wrote that Porsche plans to have their hybrid suv in dealer showrooms by 2009 or 2010.

If Porsche ever does release a hybrid vehicle (especially in the U.S.), it’s more likely to happen in 2011 or later, based on a 12/07 release from Automotive News (for those who subscribe).  You might recall that a concept version of the hybrid version of the Cayenne debuted at the LA Auto Show in November (’07), so while there’s been a lot of news, announcements, and updates in the past 90 days - it’s all speculation at this point.

An interesting claim from Porsche in regard to their concept Cayenne included that it would be able to reach speeds of up to 75 mph on battery power only.  Obviously there are some big hills on the German autobahn.