Porsche has defended the downsized engine in its facelifted Cayenne S, which ditches a naturally aspirated 4.8-litre V8 for the twin-turbo 3.6-litre V6 from the smaller Macan Turbo.
It points out that it not only delivers more power (up 14 to 309kW), more torque (up 50 to 550Nm) and better 0-100km/h acceleration (down from 5.9 to 5.5 seconds), but consumes 0.9L/100km less fuel (now 9.8L/100km).
Porsche's SUV sales and marketing director Julian Baumann said he didn't expect traditional V8 buyers to turn their backs on the Cayenne S, which was an outstanding example of how the German car-maker was reducing CO2 emissions to meet tightening fleet-average standards.
"All companies are facing this challenge," he said. "It's normal in the car industry. But it's [the downsized Cayenne S engine] an advantage in every way.
"Americans used to love V8s too. People can change. You have to try it. When we skipped air-cooling on the 911 there was some discussion, but no more."
Baumann said the number of cylinders was less important than how an engine performs.
"As long as it's emotional there's no problem. As long as we manage, as we did with Macan, to build a true Porsche and the sportiest vehicle in the segment..."
However, he hinted that rather than featuring a more powerful version of the turbo V6, the upgraded Cayenne GTS (which is yet to be revealed), will retain a 4.8-litre V8 – albeit with performance and efficiency gains.
"In Panamera the GTS is still V8, which doesn't mean Cayenne GTS will be..." he said with a grin.
Baumann also said that Porsche's top-shelf Cayenne Turbo and Turbo S would continue to pack V8 engines, at least for now.
"This will not change in the foreseeable future," he said. "Turbo model is about driving performance and emotion. Customers expect that. We can only achieve that with a V8.
"So for the time being it will stay, unless we are able to achieve that in future with a six-cylinder engine."
Porsche's next downsizing move is expected to be a turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engine for the facelifted Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe next year.
And, although it's unlikely to reduce in size, Porsche's third-generation Cayenne will appear in 2017 with similar weight reductions to the new Q7 upon which it's based, meaning it should slip under the two-tonne mark.
Baumann said that unlike the second-generation Q7, which is expected to shed around 350kg when it emerges at the Paris motor show in two weeks, the next Cayenne will remain strictly a five-seater.
"There are no plans for seven seats in Cayenne," he said. "Our customers don't want seven seats. It's a different target group [to Q7 buyers], which is good for the [Volkswagen] group."
While he would not go into details, Baumann confirmed reports that the next all-new model expected from Porsche – a smaller sedan sibling for the Panamera, dubbed Pajun -- is on hold for now.
"Panamera is not that big," he said. "For the time being there's no need [to offer a smaller sedan]."
Motoring.com.au understands that although the second-generation Panamera will be released as planned in 2016, the Pajun project – and any other potential additional models from Porsche – has been shelved amid an ongoing cost-cutting campaign at the Volkswagen group.