The off-road racer

Nobody told Porsche that SUVs needn’t be this quick

A freAk because of what it can do rather than how it looks, the Cayenne is finally feeling comfortable in its skin in this third generation. There are performance SUVs, then there’s the Cayenne Turbo. Others have caught up a bit, but Porsche’s proclamation that the Cayenne is the sports car among SUVs has a thread of truth to it. And now there’s a new one.

To help maintain the gap it’s borrowed some 911 tech, if calling staggered wheel widths can really be described as such, though the rear-wheel steering that Porsche added to its iconic sports car gets a look in here, too. The engine is now a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 – down on capacity, but no less powerful. More so in fact, the Cayenne Turbo pushing out 542bhp, enough, when equipped with the optional Sport Chrono pack, to allow a 3.9sec 0-62mph time (or 4.1sec if you’re pennypinching). It takes a while to get used to its alacrity, but the optional rear-wheel steering is worth having – especially in its most aggressive Sport+ drive mode – to see the Cayenne’s nose turn-in with the eagerness of a hot hatch.

That, allied to its trick and also optional PDCC (Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control), allows the Cayenne Turbo the usually diametrically opposed qualities of a ride that’s supple and composed with agility and fine control. The slick eightspeed transmission, the massive traction and mighty brakes all play their part in making it so much faster, too.

Outwardly, visually, it’s little different, Porsche as ever predictably conservative in is design changes. You’ll have to believe me when I tell you it’s longer, lower and more spacious, then. Lighter, too. There’s a significantly neater cabin, which borrows heavily from the Panamera though it goes without the silliness of touchscreens to move the air vents.

Forget about that, though. The Cayenne Turbo is all about the performance, and it’s certainly not lacking. Not one bit.

Below New Cayenne Turbo doesn’t look much different, but it conceals a ludicrous performance capability.