Porsche has confirmed that the U.S. will get a diesel-powered Cayenne later this year and the smaller Cajun crossover in 2013. The news arrived alongside an announcement of the new 911 Carrera Cabriolet’s premiere at the upcoming Detroit auto show.
The Cayenne diesel is already on sale in Europe, and is motivated by a more-powerful version of the 3.0-liter V-6 found in the TDI versions of the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. The engine makes 240 hp in the Porsche—15 more than in the Q7—and it’s doubtful that figure will change much when the Cayenne diesel’s U.S. specs are released. As for torque, the V-6 stumps up an identical 406 lb-ft of torque in both SUVs.
We’ve known for some time now that the Cajun—an all-new Porsche based on the Audi Q5 architecture—was coming, but now we have a more specific timeline on its official reveal. (For the full rundown of what to expect from the Cajun, including the engine portfolio, check out our deep dive here.) The Cajun will, of course, join its big brother on every Porsche enthusiast’s list of blasphemies. But as we did with the Cayenne, we’ll let its existence slide so long as it sells well enough to help fund the stuff we really want, like hard-core 911s and the upcoming baby Boxster.