Porsche builds its reputation on making some of the world’s best performance cars. It proved that higher ground clearance and lots of cargo room don’t negate performance when it introduced the Cayenne, which kicked off a competition to build the best-handling SUV.
Now, it’s developing a Cayenne to rival its fastest high-performance cars.
Porsche announced the project by releasing a series of photos. They show two-time World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl testing a high-performance version of the Cayenne at Germany’s Hockenheimring race track. The vehicle is “based on the current Cayenne Turbo Coupé,” Porsche says. But it “has been designed and developed even more single-mindedly to provide the ultimate in terms of longitudinal and lateral dynamics.”
Porsche hasn’t named the model. It uses a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 good for more than 600 horsepower, sending power through an 8-speed automatic transmission. A new “performance-oriented” version of the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control system enhances stability. According to Porsche test driver Lars Kern, it rides on “22-inch sports tires newly developed especially for this model.”
And… that’s it. That’s about all anyone outside the company knows so far.
With Porsche committed to going carbon-neutral by 2030, we don’t expect to see many more fire-breathing V8-powered new models out of Stuttgart. But the builder of the ludicrously fast 911 GT3 has a reputation to uphold, and a low-volume Cayenne-based super-SUV is not a bad way to uphold it. We’ll bring more when there is more to bring.
