Porsche announced the expansion of its hybrid range for the new Cayenne luxury SUV series. The introduction of the Cayenne S E-Hybrid marks the third plug-in model in the series and is positioned between the Cayenne E-Hybrid and the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid.
Key Features and Performance
The Cayenne S E-Hybrid, positioned between the Cayenne E-Hybrid and the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid, prioritizes a harmonious mix of everyday usability and performance. This electrified model, available in both SUV and SUV Coupé body variants, integrates seamlessly into the existing powertrain range. With a revised three-litre V6 turbo engine delivering 353PS and a 176PS electric motor, the Cayenne S E-Hybrid achieves an impressive system output of 519PS and a maximum system torque of 750Nm.
The performance capabilities are substantial, allowing the Cayenne S E-Hybrid to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 263km/h. Notably, the hybrid technology enhancements result in an improved electric range and shorter charging times due to intelligent energy management.
At Auto Shanghai next month, the new Porsche Cayenne will have its world premiere and as is the practice these days, some of the highlights are revealed in advance. For the new generation of the successful SUV model, Porsche will have a completely new dashboard concept which is referred to as the Porsche Driver Experience, not just for the driver but also the front passenger.
Described as ‘a groundbreaking display and control concept’, the Porsche Driver Experience has a fully digital display, versatile individualisation and intuitive operation. While there is still a driver-centric approach – as would be expected of a sports SUV – the front passenger also gets more opportunity to interact with the vehicle.
The Cayenne, Porsche’s first SUV, is still in its third generation since being launched in 2017. During the past 5 years, there have been improvements in areas related to the powertrain, chassis, design, equipment and connectivity. This is usual for any carmaker as feedback from real-world usage by owners is received at the factory and measures are taken to address issues, while also improving the product in overall terms.
Occasionally, there are numerous improvements made with many new technologies and it is necessary not just to calibrate or tune many systems but also test them for durability and reliability. Prototypes are now undergoing rigorous testing – called ‘complete vehicle testing’ at Porsche – to ensure the operational stability and functionality of all components and systems as they interact – in situations that the customer experiences and far beyond.
The Cayenne was Porsche’s first SUV and has been extremely successful over the 20 years it has been on sale. The success of the Cayenne brought forth the smaller Macan, which has also been selling very well.
While the Cayenne has remained in its 5-door SUV form all this while, there was a period in the early years when other bodystyles were considered – a coupe, a version stretched by 20 cm with an additional row of seats, and even a convertible. And surprisingly, what might have appeared the least conventional option – a Cayenne-based convertible approximately 4.8-metres long – was not immediately discarded. In fact, it was even built.
Today, there is still a single example of the open-top Cayenne kept in storage at the Porsche Museum. It is not a roadgoing prototype, however, but what is known as a Package Function Model – or PFM for short. The designers had the roof removed, but dispensed with the body-stiffening measures necessary for a convertible. Incapable of providing a safe and stable drive, the vehicle is transported to its destination when required. Test drives were never planned, as the convertible PFM was only built to assess four criteria.
The criteria were: Is the seating comfortable throughout the vehicle when the roof tapers in a more coupé-like way towards the rear and when the windscreen and A-pillars are shortened? How practical is the Cayenne as a 2-door model with doors which are 20 cm longer? Is it possible to accommodate an elegant, high-quality soft top that can also be folded quickly? And how should the rear end be designed?
There was still disagreement on the final issue in 2002, and two different rear sections were designed for the Package Function Model. The left-hand tail light was set low on the rear of the car, while the right-hand one was noticeably higher.
Had the car reached production, a single rear design would, of course, have been settled on in the end, and the technical issues would undoubtedly have been resolved. A now-familiar soft-top mechanism was envisaged: the luggage compartment lid of the Cayenne-PFM was attached at the front and rear, allowing it to be opened in both directions. The roof would travel over the fixed roll-over bar and be ‘swallowed’ in the rear by the luggage compartment lid, which opened in the opposite direction, folding in a z-pattern.
It has worked in a very similar way to this on the 911 Targa since the 991-generation model. The mechanism never got past the computer simulation stage for the Cayenne convertible, however, and was never fully constructed. Today, the fabric top is stowed in the luggage compartment of the museum piece and must be fitted manually if required.
While the coupe idea of 2002 was later taken up again and implemented in 2019 in a production model, Porsche did not pursue the convertible idea further. Forecasts regarding profitability were not particularly promising and doubts remained as to whether the car would look as appealing as a Porsche should.
“An SUV as a convertible is a challenge both aesthetically and formally,” said Michael Mauer, who was not yet in office in 2002, looking at the concept today. “An SUV always has a large and heavy body. You combine this with a small top half and then cut off the roof – you get very strange shapes emerging from that!”
Ferry Porsche predicted it back in 1989: “If we build an off-road model according to our standards of quality – and it has a Porsche crest on the front – people will buy it.” He would go on to be proved right. Since 2002, the Cayenne has been one of the top selling models of the carmaker, a success globally and now, it is even being assembled in Malaysia.
The decision to develop a SUV after decades of making sportcars was influenced by the recommendation of the sales organisation in the USA – Porsche’s largest market at the time. While a people-carrier had been under consideration, the company opted for an off-road vehicle as it was increasing in popularity in North America. BMW and Mercedes-Benz had even set up new factories there to build their first SUVs in the second half of the 1990s.
A new type of Porsche that was not a sportscar joined the carmaker’s range in 2002.
Crucial decision for Porsche
The decision was a crucial one because, at the beginning of the decade, the company found itself in one of the most significant economic crises in its history. It was in the red and delivered only 23,060 cars in the 1991/92 financial year. While the Boxster (launched in 1996) helped Porsche out of its downturn, it was clear that the legendary 911 and the new mid-engined model would not be enough to ensure a secure future. A ‘third Porsche’ was therefore necessary and this would eventually be a SUV.
This saw the start of the Colorado project, a massive undertaking tackled as part of a joint project with Volkswagen and announced in June 1998. However, Porsche was not content merely to build just another SUV but aimed to give the top competitors in the off-road segment a strong rival. In fact, in early advertising, it even suggested that the Cayenne not be considered just ‘another SUV’ but rather, another Porsche.
First design sketches of the Cayenne in the late 1990s. The model was developed as a joint project with Volkswagen which called its SUV the Touareg (below).
Like BMW with its X5, Porsche could not offer a product that did not also have the brand’s DNA of superior driving dynamics. Thought the platform was shared with the Volkswagen Touareg, each company initially used their own engines and developed their own chassis set-ups. Porsche was responsible for developing the joint platform, while Volkswagen contributed its production expertise for large volumes.
A very different type of Porsche
It was the first time in Porsche’s history that, instead of a sportscar, a blueprint for an SUV was required. This was, in a way, the exact opposite of a sportscar layout – a big, high-roofed car with 4 doors and room for 5 people and their luggage. Additionally, the Cayenne needed much greater ground clearance than a classic sportscar, as it was expected to count among the best when driving off-road as well.
“Of course, it wasn’t at all easy to express the identity of the Porsche brand in a car that had absolutely nothing in common with the existing models made by our company,” said Harm Lagaay, head of the design department. The designer spent a whole year on the headlights alone. It wasn’t just that they had to incorporate the low and high beams and the cornering light while preserving the clear lines of the Cayenne body – these were among the components that guaranteed the brand identity.
Porsche board members looking over a Cayenne prototype in 2001.
Even today, the face of the 996-generation 911 can be seen in the face of the first Cayenne. This impression was reinforced by what is referred to as the topography of the front section. The highest point of the wings and the headlights is above that of the bonnet. This is a distinguishing feature for a Porsche, because these contours are a clear visual reference to the design of the iconic 911. However, it was significantly more difficult to incorporate this specific element in the Cayenne, which would have a big V8 engine under the bonnet.
The Porsche product became a brand
Another feature of the 911-style bonnet is its noticeable taper towards the front. The designers also wanted to adopt this for the Cayenne, but the engineers initially suggested a square engine bonnet. This would make it easier to access the air filter and the headlights. The designers prevailed on this point, but they also worked with the car’s engineering team on areas that were not visible. For example, they worked together to find an optimised arrangement of the air filter.
Michael Mauer, who took over Lagaay’s position later, was also pleased that Porsche was willing to invest so much in design and construction. “For me, the Cayenne is about a fundamental question. No matter which type of vehicle concept would have been used to enhance the 911 and Boxster sportscar lines, the step to the third Porsche made a brand out of the product. And the design gave the car, the proportions of which take it as far away from the sportscar as it is possible to go, a Porsche identity that transcends the brand name,” he explained.
This remains evident today in the distinctive shoulder at the back of the original Cayenne – in which Ferdinand Alexander Porsche played a significant design role – as well as the smooth surfaces of the body and the omission of a traditional radiator grille between the headlights.
These classic Porsche characteristics also reduced the significance of the comparatively large air intakes in the front apron. A front-mounted engine requires air for combustion and cooling. And Porsche customers were already used to front air intakes from the sportscars. In this case, though, they are responsible for cooling the brakes.
The biggest design challenge
Mauer remembers the side profile of the car as the most difficult design challenge. The Cayenne was created together with the Volkswagen model, which is why the windscreens and all 4 doors of the two SUVs are identical. “It’s easy to underestimate how much the doors define the side of a car. Behind the rear door, we’ve got maybe another metre, and only a little more at the front, so there is not a lot of room to do very much,” said Mauer, who first worked on the Porsche SUV for the first generation facelift which appeared in 2007.
“With the facelift, we gave the whole car more visual sharpness and definition,” he recalled. However, the door issue was still there, along with the difficulty of designing a fastback-style rear – one that would taper diagonally to the rear like a sportscar. At Porsche, this is known as the ‘flyline’.
However, if the doors cannot be changed to prevent the roofline from dropping, there is little space left at the rear to create a flyline that the customer recognises as a characteristic feature. The options that remained to solve this were a more sloping design of the rigid side windows behind the rear doors, and the addition of a spoiler to extend the roof line.
Compromises within
Overall, even from today’s perspective, the first Cayenne with its formal clarity and emphasis on characteristic Porsche elements was a worthy and consistent member of the model range. The interior was, however, strongly influenced by Volkswagen.
“The interior can hardly deny its kinship with the Touareg,” said Markus Auerbach, Head of Interior Design Style at Porsche. This is where Porsche had to make compromises; one example was on the brand’s customary 5-tube design for the instrument cluster. While five interlinked rings can be seen in front of the steering wheel, the tachometer is not positioned in the middle as is usual for Porsche, but on the left.
To obtain the usual Porsche arrangement, developing a new instrument cluster would have been necessary – an unplanned investment for the first Cayenne. However, Porsche was still able to include a number of characteristic elements: its own 3-spoke steering wheel, hand-grips on the centre console, and the ignition lock that can be found in the same place as in every Porsche – to the left of the steering wheel.
After its launch, the Cayenne was shown worldwide and in places like Malaysia, its off-road capabilities were convincingly demonstrated as this picture shows. The rough and muddy course near the Sepang Circuit was used during the Porsche Roadshow in 2003.
An early advertisement introducing Porsche’s new SUV in America.
Shortly after its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September 2002, the Cayenne became a worldwide success, exceeding sales expectations. Originally, Porsche expected to sell 25,000 units a year but in the 8 model years of the first generation, 276,652 SUVs were sold – just under 35,000 vehicles per year. By 2020, the one-millionth Cayenne left the factory. In 2021, just over 83,000 units were delivered worldwide, with the US market alone taking around 21,000 units.
As reported in August last year, Porsche will assemble its vehicles in Malaysia, the first time that the sportscar maker is carrying out such activity outside Germany. It has not built a new factory in Malaysia but is using the existing Inokom Corporation complex for its facility.
The official launch of the facility, which took place today, is an event of great significance and is the result of close collaboration with Sime Darby, which represents Porsche with its Sime Darby Auto Performance unit. It also owns the Inokom factory, located on a 200-acre site in Kulim, Kedah which began operations in 1997. The factory first assembled Renault and Hyundai vehicles and under Sime Darby ownership, products from BMW, MINI, Hyundai and Mazda are also assembled at the complex today.
The Inokom factory in Kulim, Kedah, is the first site outside Europe to manufacture Porsches.
Porsche Zuffenhausen, Germany
Porsche Leipzig, Germany.
“We are very honoured by Porsche’s continued trust in Sime Darby, as we deliver a product consistent with Porsche’s highest standards for quality, performance and driving experience. The facility, which is 100% staffed by highly skilled Malaysians, not only supports the growth of our businesses across the automotive value chain in Malaysia; but also creates a pipeline of jobs to empower the local community,” said Sime Darby Berhad Group CEO, Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson.
“The new assembly site in Malaysia meets specific market needs and operates alongside Porsche’s established network of production sites in Europe. In particular, it meets comprehensive quality standards set forth by Porsche when assembling Porsche sportscars,” said Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche. “Additionally, the facility was built alongside our production philosophy: smart, lean and green.”
With this in mind, Porsche has designed its local assembly facility to meet high sustainability standards: on the roof, solar panels provide all the power needed for operations, while rainwater harvesting technologies ensure wastewater is kept to a minimum.
The Sime Darby local assembly facility has a team of highly skilled and 100% Malaysian talent, all of whom have received comprehensive training from Porsche. The assembly is further supported by a network of local suppliers and service providers in the area, empowering the future of the local community with job opportunities, upskilling prospects, and potential for further expansion.
Porsche will start with the Cayenne, a popular SUV model which is now in its third generation. The units assembled at Inokom will be for sale only in Malaysia although it is likely that the carmaker will be looking at exports later on. After all, with AFTA (the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement) allowing duty-free exchange of vehicles within ASEAN countries, it will be advantageous as prices can be more attractive and competitive. However, to qualify for this benefit, at least 40% of the vehicle’s content must be sourced from within ASEAN so that may require a bit more time to reach.
One of the first locally-assembled Cayennes undergoing final checks.
While it may seem that local assembly is simply a matter of picking a model and putting it into a box in disassembled form for assembly in another country, the process is actually more extensive. It has to be engineered for local assembly, taking into account the level of automation at the facility and capabilities of the workforce. In as far as being suitable for local conditions, that would already be done as Porsche has been selling the Cayenne locally since it was first introduced in the early 2000s.
For Porsche too, this is something new and the company probably has to create some new departments to handle the processes for assembly in Malaysia. Preparation of the completely knocked down (CKD) packs with all the parts is a specialised activity and something Porsche has never had to do before. Of course, it will probably be able to draw on the knowledge and experience from other members in the Volkswagen Group which have been assembling in other countries for decades.
The locally assembled model comes with an elevated and enhanced standard equipment range specified exclusively for the Malaysian market, with a specially curated Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur option package and a special Porsche Design timepiece available for further personalisation.
Another initiative by Porsche in Malaysia is helping to establish a recharging network for electric vehicles. Porsche Asia Pacific and Shell have collaborated to set up high-performance charging (HPC) stations along the North-South Expressway. This is a first in Southeast Asia and Shell’s first cross-country EV infrastructure in the region, enabling EV owners to drive from Singapore up the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to Penang and on to Thailand. Additionally, HPCs are already in place at authorized Porsche dealerships in the country.
For more information on Porsche products and services in Malaysia, visit www.porsche.com.my.
There was a time when a SUV was not associated with high speed and high performance. It was a utility vehicle (that’s what the ‘U’ in SUV stands for) and it was intended more for slower off-road motoring than speeding around a racetrack. Then the Germans changed things – carmakers like Porsche and BMW wanted to offer SUVs as their customers wanted them but the performance DNA was too embedded. They could not bring themselves to offer a vehicle with their badge on it that did not have high performance.
BMW didn’t even want to use the term ‘SUV’ and has instead insisted on using SAV – for Sports Activity Vehicle – starting with its X5 in 1999. With its first SUV, the Cayenne, Porsche tried to play down the SUV character in initial communications, introducing the new model as ‘not another new SUV, but another new Porsche’. The company wanted to emphasise that even though it looked like a SUV, it was no less a sportscar like all other Porsches.
High-performance part of DNA
When the first Cayenne was launched, Porsche made sure to take it ‘for a drive’ around the famed (or infamous) Nurburgring Nordschleife. In that first run of a Porsche SUV, the Cayenne Turbo S achieved a lap time of less than 8 minutes. Over the years, Porsche has spent much time at the track nicknamed ‘Green Hell’ and as performance improved, times got quicker.
Recently, the new performance model of the Cayenne (to be launched soon) covered the full lap distance of 20.832 kilometres at Nurburgring in 7:38.925 minutes. The time was registered in the official rankings of Nurburgring GmbH, certified by a notary public and now stands as a new record in the ‘SUV, off-road vehicle, van, pick-up’ category.
“Over the first few metres of the Nordschleife in this Cayenne, you’re tempted to turn around to make sure that you’re really sitting in a spacious SUV. Its high steering precision and stoically stable rear axle gave me a lot of confidence in the Hatzenbach section,” said test driver Lars Kern, who accompanied long periods of the car’s development, of his record drive.
“It changed direction at lightning speed in the fast curves such as between Hohe Acht and Eiskurve, with no wobble and no tendency to understeer. Even in this technical stretch, the Cayenne is a real driver’s car that is easy to control,” according to the test and development driver. “The wheels normally leave the ground at both the Pflanzgarten I and II crests but these sections felt smooth and quiet in this Cayenne. There is a lot of wheel travel, and the body stays solid and controlled. The drivetrain makes a really strong impression. It delivers power in every situation as well as perfect gear changes.”
Cayenne-typical all-rounder
According to Stefan Weckbach, Vice-President Product Line Cayenne, this new Cayenne model promises to be a top performer. During its development, exceptional on-road performance was the focus, which would be expected. “Our record-breaking Cayenne is based on the Cayenne Turbo Coupe, though more systematically designed for maximum longitudinal and lateral dynamics,” he explained.
Kern recorded his fast lap of the Nordschleife with a camouflaged vehicle, equipped with a racing seat and roll-cage for safety reasons. The tyres fitted were 22-inch Pirelli P Zero Corsas that were specially developed for the new Cayenne model and will be fitted as standard.
2-time World Rally Champion and Porsche Brand Ambassador has also completed numerous test laps in the high-performance SUV on the Hockenheimring circuit. Like Kern, Rohrl was also impressed, saying: “The car remains incredibly stable even in fast corners, and its turn-in behaviour is extremely precise. More than ever, you have the feeling that you are sitting in a compact sportscar rather than in a large SUV.”
The first Porsche I ever laid eyes on was a black 964 around the hills of Bangsar. I was probably about four years old; I don’t remember much else except that it completely took my breath away and that it was love at first sight.
Since then, the 911 has been the ultimate everyday supercar for me. A Porsche fan boy, you can imagine what was running through my head when I got a phone call asking if I would like to join the Porsche Club Malaysia for a week long drive around Malaysia. It was going to be a 2200km and I could drive the Cayenne and the Panamera Sport Turismo and mingle with people who buy the GT2RS, GT3RS and the Turbo. And sometimes, that one person would have all three models in his garage.
Naturally I would have preferred a 911 for the road trip, but I was not about to say no, and so I had a few days to prepare for a week of driving.
It has been about 10 years since I last joined the Porsche Club Malaysia for a drive. The last one was a road trip to Rompin for a spot of charity and drag racing on a landing strip. This time however, it was an entirely different trip.
Called the Drive of the Year 2019, PCM Malaysia and PCM Singapore put in a joint effort to organise its first major drive of the year with fuel provided by Shell V-Power Racing. Beginning at the Porsche Centre in Sungai Besi and ending at Puteri Harbour on the first day, the convoy of about 40 Porsches of all models then headed to Tanjung Jara in Terengganu, followed by Belum in Perak, onto Penang Island via Kuala Perlis and back to KL from there.
Some of our rest stops were quite unique, and even included a stop over at the hugely popular RWB Museum in Johor. RWB – Rauh-Welt Begriff – the Japanese customiser who specialises in turning beautiful 964s into wider, lower, and depending on who you ask and dare I say it, rather handsome interpretation of the donor Porsche.
And when we weren’t eating at popular restaurant’s sometimes frequented by royalty, we were turbo-ing down the coastal roads of our country at speeds best kept secret.
We were in the new Cayenne and the Sport Turismo though, so we really were in the most comfortable cars in the convoy. But far from being the most underpowered or slowest with both cars offering 330hp and eye watering acceleration, I really wouldn’t say that keeping up was all that tough. Though the lead group would often reach the destination a good 45 minutes to an hour ahead of us. But driving both cars on highways and by-ways was an experience I won’t soon forget.
Why?
Imagine cars weighing about two tons barrelling down the “kampung” roads with badly patched roads throwing the balance of the car all over the place. The onboard sensors looking out for any obstacle or any dangerous situation that may arise, immediately alerting you to a potentially dangerous situation. And if you do not react fast enough, the Cayenne and Sport Turismo would even apply the brakes for you. But it never got to that, of course ; )
Such bad roads put the suspension to the ultimate test – will the car glide, or will it hop and skip all over the place? The suspension in both the Panamera and the Sport Turismo is of course adjustable. In Sport and Sport Plus mode, selected via a knob on the steering wheel the same size as a old 20 cent coin, the suspension stiffens up, giving you more control of the car, but also shakes things up to a noticeable level in the cockpit as it transfers all the irregularities on the road directly to you instead of soaking it up, which is what it does in normal mode.
Back to the drive.
Tagging along with a group of hardcore Porsche enthusiasts for an entire week is one of those experiences that will stick with you for a while, up there with skydiving even. The cars are almost always the topic of conversation, besides the logistics and itinerary of the drive that is, and in club drives like this it is awesome to mingle with car enthusiasts who are as humble and down to earth as your best friend. Just don’t ask to take the GT2RS out for a drive though.
Porsche has made some changes for 2017 with regards to the optional extras for its vehicles which include new colours for the exteriors and interiors as well as power upgrades for the 911S range.
Starting with its new colour palette for this year, Crayon is a colour that’s available for all 911 and 718 models. Reserved for the 911 range is the four-coat paint in Saffron Yellow Metallic with intermediate sanding. If you opt for the optional sports exhaust, Porsche can paint the tailpipes in high-gloss black. As for the interior, the company has expanded the range to include Sport-Tex equipment in Black or Graphite Blue/Crayon.
As far as the Cayenne is concerned, the colour range now includes Purpurite Metallic and Palladium Metallic. It’s baby sister, the Macan, receives leather interior in Black/Luxor Beige. New exterior and interior colours are also available for the Panamera which gets Burgundy Red Metallic and Ristretto Brown Metallic as well as leather interior with Black/Luxor Beige. But if you’ve decided on the club leather, then you can also choose to have it in either Cohiba Brown or Truffle Brown.
And now for the power bit. Porsche say that for all new 911 Carrera S, 911 Carrera 4S and 911 Targa 4S models, it offers a kit that will offer a power bump of 30bhp to 450bhp. The kit is said to include larger turbochargers, the Sport Chrono package including dynamic engine mountings, a modified brake cooling system and the sports exhaust system with two central tailpipes. What might excite those who’ve already purchased an S model 911 with a Chrono pack, starting from June 2017, this power increase is available for purchase via Porsche Tequipment as a retrofit option.
