Porsche this morning unveiled a pair of new Cayenne SUVs: the 2015 Porsche Cayenne GTS costing a toppy £72,523 and a new entry-level Cayenne dipping under the £50k threshold.
Both sporty off-roaders will be shown in public for the first time at the Los Angeles motor show on 19 November 2014 and go on sale simultaneously.
Porsche Cayenne GTS (2015): in detail
Stuttgart rolls out GTS models across its range nowadays, from 911 to Panamera, Cayman to Boxster. Maybe not the 918 Spyder, though. It’s a familiar recipe, adding extra equipment and sporty engineering details as the Porsche Sports Exhuast and PASM adaptive dampers from higher-echelon models but at a more affordable price.
So there’s a 3.6-litre bi-turbo engine in place of the old GTS’s V8. This is downsizing in action, folks – and that means you’ll lose some woofle in the name of cleaning up its act in public.
Power leaps by 20 horses, though, to 434bhp and there’s a colossal 443lb ft thanks to forced induction: that’s enough to guarantee 0-62mph in 5.2sec, half a second faster than the outgoing V8 Cayenne GTS. Top speed is quoted at 162mph. Turbo-sourced brakes help wipe that speed off.
This is the second Cayenne GTS offered in the SUV’s short life – the first arrived in 2007 – and they’ve proved popular to date. Porsche says that 11% of all Cayennes sold are the GTS model, showing that not everybody wants a diesel 4×4 at this rarefied end of the market.
Spot the new 2015 Cayenne GTS by its Turbo-look front end, show-off red brake callipers, more contoured side sills, wheelarch extensions and 20in RS Spyder alloys.
Porsche Cayenne (2015): the entry-level SUV
Bottoming out the revised SUV range is the new Cayenne powered by Porsche’s 3.6-litre petrol V6. Naturally aspirated, it delivers 296bhp and Porsche quotes a more modest 7.7sec 0-62mph sprint (0.2sec faster than before).
This is the less profligate side of petrol Cayenne ownership, although its cleaner 215g/km CO2 and 31mpg still look at odds with the carbon-obsessed zeitgeist; most Cayenne buyers in the UK will surely pick the Diesel, with its wallet-welcoming 43mpg/173g/km.
More generous standard equipment offered on the base Cayenne, says Porsche, includes an eight-speed auto transmission with stop-start, bi-xenon headlamps, LED day-running lights, multi-function steering wheel and a powered tailgate.
The entry-level Cayenne costs £49,576 in the UK and is available in dealerships now. Read our review of the current Porsche Cayenne range here.