If we had to sum up the facelifted Porsche Cayenne Turbo in a word, it would be “obscene”.
While this might seem a bit of a slur against Porsche’s largest sports utility vehicle, there are few other words in the English language that would better describe a 2.2-tonne SUV that gets from a standstill to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 279km/h.
The Cayenne Turbo draws its prodigious thrust from a twin-turbocharged 4.8-litre V8 with 520bhp and 750Nm, which represents a 20bhp and 50Nm increase over its predecessor’s output. This added punch has also slashed its century sprint time by 0.3 of a second.
To give you some idea how rapid it is, Porsche also claims the Cayenne Turbo’s 0-to-160km/h time is 10.3 seconds, which is about the time your average family saloon takes to complete the benchmark 0-to-100km/h sprint.
While these supercar-grade power figures might suggest the big SUV is a savage thing, this car is actually quite genteel. But do not mistake it for gentle – flooring the throttle raises a thrummy roar from its V8 motor and it catapults with a great deal of urgency in the general vicinity of the horizon.
However, while this automobile might have the heart of a thoroughbred sports car, it is still encased in a 1702mm-tall body, which means that while it goes around corners with more alacrity and poise than any vehicle its size, it’s no hot hatchback.
There’s a notable amount of pitch in the suspension even in its firmest Sport Plus mode, and rapid directional changes result in the chassis heaving and straining to cope with the forces imposed upon it.
But show the Cayenne Turbo straighter, less undulating stretches of road and it really comes into its own. The kilometres magically disappear beneath its 20-inch (cost-optional) wheels. In addition to sports-car performance, it also serves up limo-like levels of cruising refinement.
And like in all good limos, its cabin is a glorious riot of soft leather, wood and aluminium. Build quality is beyond reproach. The doors close with a satisfying thunk (or if you pay more for the soft-close function, a discreet click), and there’s a suitably luxe report and tactile feedback from its switchgear.
But all that is rather nice and hardly indecent. We’ve not yet come to the most obscene part of this Porsche: its price. When it arrives here early next year, expect it to be in the neighbourhood of $600,000, which is money you could well use to buy a decent sports car (or a decent flat in a decent area).
That said, the car’s top-drawer standard features (adaptive air-filled dampers and a full complement of LED exterior lighting, including new 918 Spyder-esque four-point daytime running lights) soften the blow of its stiff sticker price somewhat.
But is the Cayenne Turbo worth its titanic asking price? Well, for that, you’ll have to ask yourself if you need top performance and practicality in a car. If the answer is yes, then know that the facelifted Cayenne is still at the top of its game.
SPECIFICATIONS
DRIVETRAIN
TYPE V8, 32-valves, turbocharged
CAPACITY 4806cc
BORE X STROKE 96mm x 83mm
COMPRESSION RATIO 10.5:1
MAX POWER 520bhp at 6000rpm
MAX TORQUE 750Nm at 2250-4000rpm
POWER TO WEIGHT 238bhp per tonne
GEARBOX 8-speed automatic with manual select
DRIVEN WHEELS All
PERFORMANCE
0-100KM/H 4.5 seconds
TOP SPEED 279km/h
CONSUMPTION 8.7km/L (combined)
CO2 EMISSION 267g/km
SUSPENSION
FRONT Double wishbones, air springs
REAR Multi-link, air springs
BRAKES
FRONT / REAR Ventilated discs
TYRES
TYPE Michelin Latitude Sport 3
SIZE 265/50 R19
SAFETY
AIRBAGS 6
TRACTION CONTROL ABS with PSM
MEASUREMENTS
LENGTH 4855mm
WIDTH 1939mm
HEIGHT 1702mm
WHEELBASE 2895mm
KERB WEIGHT 2185kg
TURNING CIRCLE 11.9m
BUYING IT
PRICE INCL. COE To be announced
WARRANTY 5 years/100,000km
WE SAY
+ Storming V8 motor, surprisingly agile given its size, limo-like refinement
– Gargantuan footprint makes for tricky manoeuvring, gargantuan price tag
