2018 Porsche Cayenne 0
Marton Pettendy9 Mar 2017
NEWS

Porsche developing Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid

Next-gen Porsche Cayenne to be topped by mad 500km plug-in hybrid V8; will vie for world's quickest SUV honours

Porsche has confirmed it will slot the same 500kW hybrid drivetrain that powers one of the world's quickest sedans, the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, into the next-generation Cayenne (pictured) due next year.

As in the Panamera, which costs $460,000 and arrives Down Under this September, the twin-turbo V8 hybrid-powered SUV will be quickest and most powerful Cayenne money can buy, but it will be far cheaper than its sedan sibling.

And while Ludicrous Mode-equipped P100D versions of Tesla's Model S and Model X currently lay claim to the title of world's quickest sedan and SUV, with 0-100km/h times of 3.0 and 3.1 seconds respectively, those figures have proven difficult to replicate in the real world.

Porsche's 0-100km/h claims, on the other hand, have a history of being conservative. The Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is claimed to hit 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, eclipsing the former top-dog Panamera, the Turbo S, which was the fastest production sedan around the Nurburgring until the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV came along.

Like its sedan counterpart, the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid will be powered by the 4.0-litre V8 engine from the Panamera Turbo, but fitted with an electric motor to produce total outputs of 500kW (up 100kW) and 850Nm of torque.

The high-performance plug-in hybrid SUV should also offer up to 50km of all-electric, zero-emissions driving, and official fuel consumption in the vicinity of the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (just 2.9L/100km).

Speaking at the Geneva motor show yesterday, when the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid made its world debut, Porsche's global boss Oliver Blume confirmed the new Cayenne will follow the Panamera's lead by having a hybrid model as its performance flagship.

“That will be the same idea – Cayenne and Panamera with hybrid systems," he said.

“That’s kind of our idea, to promote the electric power and therefore make the top-of-the-line model a hybrid version, like the Turbo S.”

While Blume said hybridisation made sense for large Porsches like the Panamera and Cayenne, Porsche had yet to decide if the next-generation 911 sports car or Macan mid-size SUV will receive the hybrid treatment.

Unlike the models they replace, he said both new vehicles – including the 992-series 911 due by 2020 and the second-generation Macan based on Audi's new Q5 -- will be package-protected for plug-in hybrid powertrains.

“At this moment we are thinking only about [hybrid for] Panamera and Cayenne,” Blume said.

“What we will do with the 911… the 911 is the 911, and the most important engines in the future will be combustion engines.

“If you could come with a plug-in hybrid… it isn’t decided yet, but the concept of the new 911 will be able to integrate a plug-in hybrid. With this generation we won’t integrate the hybrid drivetrain."

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