Porsche officially working on a smaller SUV

Porsche is currently working on a fifth model on their line-up, a smaller SUV placed under the current Cayenne. The new model will join the current Boxster, 911, Cayenne, and Panamera model and, according to a company insider, "with the new model, Porsche will open up a market in which until now only Mercedes and BMW were active."

The arrival of a new model line is a huge investment, but so was the Cayenne that in the end grew production from 50,000 to 92,000 units per year. The new model will be based on the Audi Q5 and the upcoming Q3. Previous rumors said it would be called Roxster.

The "Roxster" will be a luxury car with sporty handling characteristics and high achievement. Sportier than the current Cayenne, it will feature muscular line contours, LED headlamps, and taillights. Most likely the future model will be offered with V6 and V8 engines, with output ranging from 280 to 500 HP for a possible Turbo version.

2011 Porsche Panamera V6

911 addicts hate the Panamera only slightly less than the company's Cayenne SUV (in fact, they can barely stand the Boxster) and would like nothing more than to see the Panamera fall flat on its face.

A casual inspection of the new base model Panamera's specification sheet might lead one to believe it a veritable morsel of aforementioned poop.

Though the lopping off of two cylinders saves some 30 kilograms, the new Panamera is still pushing perilously close to two tons, a formidable heft for any engine to motivate, let alone a relatively minuscule 3.6-litre V6.

Worse yet, at least according to that spec sheet, is that Porsche developed the V6 by simply lopping off two of the 4.8L V8's cylinders, never the way to optimize a six-cylinder powertrain. V6s are best harmonically balanced and, therefore, smoother running when aligned 60 degrees between the cylinder banks. Ninety degrees, like the Mercedes 3.5L V6, seldom works as well, feeling coarse and unsophisticated by comparison. The combination of that heft with a rough, high-revving engine could easily have been a huge mistake.

Thankfully for Porsche, the Panamera V6 never feels even remotely unsophisticated. Indeed, the new 3.6L is something of a marvel, feeling both powerful and surprisingly smooth - at least from inside the cabin. Most surprising, perhaps, is that Porsche bothered to develop its own V6 at all.

After all, the Cayenne makes do with a Volkswagen-sourced V6 that shares the very same performance statistics - 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque - as the Panamera. That's about all they share, although both offer unconventional formats.

The Panamera version is the unusual 90 degrees mentioned earlier, but the Cayenne's is equally unusual, its 3.6L V6 being a narrow-angle setup (10.6 degrees) made famous in various Volkswagen sports models. On the other hand, the Cayenne's VR6's is massively undersquare with a 89-millimetre bore and a long 96.4-mm stroke, while the Porsche 3.6 is a high-revving oversquare design with Porsche's Variocam variable valve timing.

Quite why Porsche forges ahead with two V6s of identical performance - when other companies are trying to minimize costly parts proliferation - is quite a mystery. Porsche's press kit makes a big deal about the automaker ``choosing'' the 90-degree format because it offers a lower centre of gravity, but that's a load of the aforementioned puppy droppings. The real reason for the format is that it was much cheaper to lop off two cylinders from the V8 rather than develop an all-new engine block.

Porsche Cayenne Price and Pictures

Around the turn of the millennium, legions of Porsche aficionados were outraged. It had become known that Porsche’s then chief executive, Wendelin Wiedeking, was planning to add a four-wheel-drive SUV, the Cayenne, to the range of this most iconic sports carmaker. The main planks of Wiedeking’s argument in favour of the project were that the Cayenne would create a new market sector for Porsche, and a major revenue stream to counter the volatility of the sports car market.

His argument held. The Cayenne went on to be the most successful vehicle Porsche has ever produced. Some 280,000 have been sold since 2003, when the first came off the production line at a purpose-built factory near Leipzig – with 14,000 rumbling around in the UK alone.

Now it is time for Cayenne Mark 2. Even though Porsche enthusiasts consider the first Cayenne to be rather ugly, its successor has a lot to live up to. Indeed, the memory of my first test session in the original Cayenne Turbo, on the racing circuit Porsche built alongside the Leipzig factory, is indelible. From the driving seat, the car felt uncomfortably high off the ground, even for an SUV. It also had well over 400 horsepower, went like the wind and – I told the grinning chief test driver sitting beside me – without question this two-tonne tub of lard was going to roll over in the first high-speed corner.

It didn’t. Instead, it broke traction well before lifting a wheel. Thereafter the trick to driving it quickly became obvious: just throw it sideways. It was like defying the laws of physics.

But not only does the Cayenne Mark 2 better the original on every count, it also takes Porsche into new territory with its very first hybrid. In terms of looks, it is still the case that only its mother might truly love it, but its redesigned exterior has acquired an altogether sleeker, less porcine appearance.

The Porsche Cayenne Is The Best Tractor Ever

Way back when, Ferdinand Porsche designed tractors. Now the Porsche Cayenne his company builds has returned to the fields, lugging a Dutch farmer's 21' sod roller, if only for a photo op and some bragging rights.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo generates an impressive 450 HP and 450 lb-ft of torque from its twin turbo V8, more than enough to pull the roller along the ground. The nutty farmer had to modify the implement's hitch a bit to fit it to the Porsche, but it works. Of course, the Cayenne isn't fitted with an auxiliary hydraulic pump and rear-mounted quick connects to work the lift wheels (though we're sure Porsche would be happy to fit one for a tremendous price), so this has limited use other than a sight gag.

Porsche 928 successor sketch shows up

Official sketch hints at Porsche 928 successor

Ever since the Panamera sedan made its market debut, there have been rumors that Porsche will do a coupe based on the same chassis that would be a successor to the 928, the company’s first mass-produced V8 powered model. We finally have something “official” from Porsche and you’re looking at it (the picture above).

The sketch has popped up on the opening page of the Porsche Consulting website and appears to show a successor to the 928 V8 coupe with strong 911 design cues.

2011 Porsche Cayenne: First Drive

Well it did not originate in France as the aforementioned dance form, but the Teutonic goliath from Stuttgart has just received a fantastic new avatar that makes it dance through all possible demands with flair and pomp. Adil Jal Darukhanawala kicks up some serious sand in Dubai

Did you know that the second generation Porsche Cayenne was launched at the Geneva Motor Show this year? Well how could you when its thunder was stolen by none other than the 918 Spider which also went on to be the undisputed star of the show. It was pretty much impossible to try and make mindspace available for the Cayenne's second coming, so enticing was the prospect of the 918 but then the Cayenne is a total anathema to Porsche purists. It was butch and huge and defied the laws of physics to go quick in a straight line and hang on tight through the corners, just like a svelte Porsche sportscar could and this more than anything else has made it hold its head high, not just in the sports car maker's line-up but also as one of the most capable SUV's in the world. Heck, with over 270,000 units sold of the first generation offering and with orders for 10,000 of the new car already in hand, the Cayenne can be looked at but in only one way - as a stunning success!

Porsche had invited a select bunch of Indian automotive hacks for the official first drive of the new Cayenne in Leipzig but with Iceland's Eyjafjallaj?kull volcano blowing its top, the trip to colder climes was changed to the sandy wastes of Dubai's Big Red, replete with sand dunes and long stretches of straight tarmac. In fact the latter was a no-brainer because with any of the Cayennes capable of top speeds in excess of 250km/h, this SUV just thundered over any and everything in sight, smothering everything in its wake and one could only admire the car's body control, poise and yes, of course, its immaculate ride quality but more of that later.

So what's with the second generation Cayenne one might well ask and the most important bit is that the largely evolutionary changes have made a good product even better. And everything starts with its new look which sits on the vehicle very comfortably, so much so that its proportions make it look smaller visually than its predecessor. Now for a vehicle which has actually grown in length by 48mm to be deemed this is praiseworthy but the new nose and the overall detail around the bonnet and the new lights makes the second generation Cayenne come out far prettier and less aggressive than the original. Factor in the new glass house treatment and the Cayenne makes a most positive impact on the mind.

What has gone behind making the new Cayenne seem smaller despite increased dimensions is some serious sculpting with the clay knife of the designers. The behemoth has ditched all its 911 inspired rotundity and gone on a serious fat-to-muscle diet which has it look like an SUV that is much closer to the grand touring Panamera in its visual approach as opposed to looking like an elongated 911 sportscar. That certainly is a good move since the new car now has a distinct design identity of its own which banks on being more approachable and should appeal to an even wider audience. The toning treatment is also in cue with the engineering approach that the boffins at Porsche AG took for the new Cayenne which involved severe weight loss. They have done well given that their flagship V8 powered Cayenne Turbo has lost a good 185 kilograms between generations

2011 Porsche Cayenne Lands in U.S.

Porsche said the first of its redesigned 2011 Cayenne models have begun arriving at U.S. dealers. The new Cayenne S is priced from $64,675, while the Cayenne Turbo starts at $105,775. Prices include a $975 shipping charge.

The all-new Cayenne S Hybrid, priced from $68,675, won't reach showrooms until fall, when it will be joined by a base Cayenne, starting at $47,675.

For 2011, the Cayenne gets all-new sheetmetal and a roomier cockpit, plus such available high-tech features as Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus, Porsche Dynamic Light System, Lane Change Assistant, Adaptive Cruise Control and Automatic Start/Stop.

The Cayenne S features a 400-horsepower 4.8-liter V8, while the Cayenne Turbo is fitted with a 500-hp twin-turbo version of the same engine. The base Cayenne gets a 300-hp 3.6-liter V6, and the Cayenne S Hybrid mates a 333-hp supercharged 3.0-liter V6 with a 34-kw electric motor.

EPA has rated the Cayenne S at 16 mpg city and 22 highway and the Cayenne Turbo at 15/22. Fuel-economy ratings aren't available yet on the base Cayenne and Cayenne S Hybrid.