In a world that is (increasingly) full of luxury SUV’s, few compare to the Cayenne Turbo. Don’t get us wrong, BMW and Land Rover know how to compete, and it seems like their are constantly packing more and more horsepower into their beautiful machines. But when it comes to pure stately luxury and elegance combined with power, the Cayenne Turbo is a whole ‘nother level.
The 2019 Cayenne Turbo promises to deliver 550 horsepower and 567 lb-ft of torque, thanks to it’s new twin-turbo four-liter V8, where the turbos are actually within the cylinders themselves. That’s more than 30 horsepower more than the previous Cayenne, and just a little bit faster; top speed on the 2019 tops out at 177 MPH, and 0-60 is only 3.7 seconds. That may not be Bentayga speeds, but for an SUV that clocks in at 4800 lbs, it still is pretty impressive. Porsche says that the shortened exhaust paths on the turbos improve response and power delivery.
By building the turbos into the cylinders, Porsche was able to put the engine lower in the chassis, and allow for a lower center of gravity. It’s supposed to feel like a sportscar when handling – this is a Porsche, after all – while delivering the capabilities of an SUV. They’ve also put in rear-axle steering and the Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus systems to help with that. All this power is channeled into a new eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission, and the Porsche Traction Management all-wheel-drive system puts it all into the wheels efficiently. There’s also a three chamber air suspension, staggered tire sizes, and Porsche Surface Coated Brake (PSCB) They’ve also given the Cayenne Turbo an adaptive rear roof spoiler, which optimizes itself for rear downforce on acceleration and actually helps act as an air brake when braking.
And of course, we can’t forget the interior, with all the requisite goodies you would expect from a Porsche, such as Porsche Advanced cockpit, a standard 710w Bose Surround Sound System, and luxurious 18-way sport seats with integrated headrests and heating functions.
So what’s it good for? You probably won’t be doing much off-road with the Cayenne (unlike the new Discovery SVX), but if you want to get around town in pure style, as well as have a little fun on the track.
Interested? The Cayenne Turbo will be available this fall and winter, and starts at $124,00.
