ONE MILLION CAYENNES INCOMING

Earlier this year Porsche announced the production of the one millionth 911. And what a testament to the enduring appeal of surely the most successful and iconic sports car in the world.

Of course, it took over 50 years to rack up that impressive total. Meanwhile, Porsche has cranked out 760,000 Cayenne SUVS and that model has only been in production since 2002. In other words, give it another three or four years at the most and the Cayenne will overtake the 911 to become the most successful Porsche model ever.

For how long it will hold that title isn't clear. The Macan mini SUV is currently selling even faster than the Cayenne and found very nearly 100,000 homes in 2016. And that in what was just its second full year of sales. Incredible. That said, the outgoing Cayenne went on sale in mid-2010 and was beginning to look a little past it. Despite that, Porsche still shifted precisely 70,867 of the things in 2016.

With the spangly new third generation model announced and just about to come on stream, it'll probably be touch and go between the Macan and Cayenne for sales supremacy. Either way, we'll be looking at around 200,000 Porsche SUVS a year versus around 55,000 sports cars. If that feeds into the latter day cliché that Porsche is an SUV maker that does a few sports car on the side, it's worth remembering that Porsche makes far more sports cars today than it ever did when sports car were all it made.

Likewise, Porsche's sports car range is more varied than ever, whether that's the range of body styles and drivetrains on offer or the ever-growing number of special editions it cranks out. So while Porsche does make far more SUVS than sports cars, the fact is right now is still the most successful and prolific period ever for Porsche sports cars.