The Porsche Cayenne is 20 years old. Remarkably it was only the third ever Porsche model – after the legendary 911 and the Boxster, which was launched in 1996.
At the time motoring fanatics were aghast. What was one of the world’s most famous sports car makers doing launching an SUV?
Over the past 20 years the Cayenne has firmly established itself in the company’s line up. And with more than 80,000 sales it has helped secure Porsche’s profitability.
Once of my early assignments when I became The Courier’s motoring writer in 2006 was to travel to Millbrook Proving Ground to drive the original Cayenne.
Over the course of an afternoon I drove it through a punishing off-road course and around Millbrook’s speedbowl at 130mph.
I’ve driven more than 1,000 cars in this job and to this day the Cayenne is the only model I’ve driven off road and on a racetrack.
Back to the original Cayenne
More than 15 years later I found myself behind the wheel of an original Cayenne. Porsche has a 2005 model with just 12,000 on the clock in its heritage fleet. Used as a training vehicle by the firm’s engineers, it’s been taken apart and put back together umpteen times.
With a 4.5 litre V8 petrol engine producing 340bhp it still feels fast. Zero to 62mph comes up in 7.2 seconds and the old girl can hit 150mph.
I spent over an hour driving it round the Yorkshire moors. I even managed some light off roading over a couple of miles of muddy track at the edge of some fields.
Even nearly two decades on the original Cayenne is still a very impressive car.
Of course my trip wouldn’t be complete without seeing what the Cayenne has been up to in the years since I first drove it.
Now on its third generation, the Cayenne is available in both SUV and Coupe body styles. The latter has a sweeping roofline and a hatchback boot, and is one of the few rivals to the BMW X6.
Trying out today’s Cayenne
First up was the Cayenne Turbo GT. This has a 4.0 litre turbocharged V8 petrol engine that develops an astonishing 640hp (and has an eye-watering £147,510 price tag). That’s enough to do the 0-62mph sprint in 3.3 seconds. It will cover quarter of a mile in 11.6 seconds and go on to a top speed of 186mph.
Four wheel drive helps give traction to all that power. But on wet northern England roads even that struggled and the car wriggled and bucked before finding grip and launching itself towards the horizon.
It is astonishingly, pin-you-back-in-your-seat-and-leave-you-giggling powerful.
Then there’s the environmentally friendly plug-in hybrid version of the Porsche Cayenne. Of course you would assume this is a bit more sedate.
Super fast hybrid
Not a bit of it if you go for the Turbo S E-Hybrid. This has a 550hp 4.0 litre petrol engine and an electric motor that brings combined power up to 680hp – that’s 40hp MORE than the Turbo GT.
The batteries add weight so it’s not quite as quick as its petrol-powered sibling. It’s only a whisker behind though, with 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds and a 183mph top speed.
You can also drive it up to 25 miles in fully electric mode, which will reduce fuel costs on your daily commute. Although if you can afford £134,180 for one (info in the Facts section is for this model) you’re probably not too concerned about the price of petrol.
Officially it returns around 70mpg and emits less than 100g/km of CO2 – but expect those figures to leap if you regularly use the car’s performance.
What makes the Cayenne special is not just its turn of speed. It’s the fact it handles in a manner more akin to a hot hatch than a two-tonne SUV. It turns in sharply to corners, remains perfectly flat, and has grip levels you could never explore on public roads.
Take it easy and the Cayenne can transport a family of four and a couple of dogs in almost as much comfort as a Range Rover.
It is an incredibly expensive car. But also an incredibly capable one.
Facts:
Price: £134,180
0-62mph: 3.8 seconds
Top speed: 183mph
Economy: 68.9mpg
CO2 emissions: 92g/km
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