Porsche Cajun to get Audi 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel

Volkswagen Group announced late last year that each of its major sub-brands (Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen) would take on separate roles for researching and developing upcoming platforms. These platforms would then be shared across the three brands to save money.

As part of these plans the Cajun will use the new 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel V6 engine. The engine is not currently available in Australia but it is set to debut in the new Audi A6 Avant wagon - which will go on sale in Europe during the third-quarter of this year - and the new Audi Q5, which is set for early next year.

The engine produces a fairly potent 230kW of power and whopping 648Nm of torque, making it the most powerful and torquiest modern-day production 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine. According to Axel Eisner, head of engine development at Audi, the engine will eventually become available on every Audi model except the Audi A1, TT and R8.

It is possible Porsche will extract a few more kilowatts from the engine to put it above the Audi Q5 counterpart, and tweak the chassis somewhat to offer improved performance, keeping with Porsche's sporty brand image.

The Porsche Cajun is expected to debut sometime in 2012, and then go on sale in late 2013.