Just about a year ago, we brought you images of a Cayenne Coupe on the Nordschleife. Back then it was suggested that Porsche might have been targeting a new lap record, then 2020 really got going and there was little more heard of it. Now it seems the mission is back on, Porsche announcing to the world "a new high performance model in the Cayenne product line".
The production version isn't here just yet, Porsche instead choosing to show Walter Rohrl driving a prototype at Hockenheim. For now, it looks a lot like any other Cayenne Coupe, if perhaps a tad lower, but a few interesting details have been confirmed already. For example, when did you ever hear of more negative camber on the front axle of an SUV? There's another 0.45 degrees here, with half-inch wider 22-inch wheels as well, shod in tyres "newly developed for this model". How big do Michelin Cup 2s go? Additional tweaks include retuned PDCC active anti-roll and a titanium exhaust, with the promise of "the ultimate in terms of longitudinal and lateral dynamics."
The as-yet-unnamed car will be based on the 550hp Cayenne Turbo Coupe, as opposed to the 680hp Turbo S E-Hybrid, presumably because of the weight benefits (all things being relative) of a non-electrified base. Given the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has up to 650hp in cars like the Lamborghini Urus, there's clearly plenty of headroom to build upon the standard output. For reference the current record holder, the Audi RS Q8, makes 600hp.
So, what did the venerable Rohrl have to say about the new Porsche? He described the new Cayenne as a "great leap forward compared to everything that has gone before. This car redefines the meaning of the term SUV". Which we'll take with a reasonable pinch of salt given his position as a Porsche ambassador, but does point to pretty serious move by Porsche to once again alter the perspective on SUVs. And given its history in claiming Nurburgring records, it'd be a very brave person to bet against it setting another benchmark.
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