Image. For car companies, this has become an all important thing, a guiding principle if you will, in everything that they do—from their motorsports program to their commitment for the environment. Some have worked so hard to preserve a certain sense of brand image and no one has done it better than Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
Over the decades, the company has successfully transformed their cars into desirable collector’s items admired by enthusiasts and normal folks alike. For instance, the 911, for all the iterations it has gone through, still has a familiar silhouette that is distinctively its own. Although considered as today’s most profitable car maker, things have not always been sweet at Stuttgart.
In the eighties, Porsche has tried to reinvent itself with a couple of coupes such as the 944 with a front-mounted V8 engine and swing-up headlights. Wanting to expand their empire further, they wanted to add a four-door sedan, something that rabid Porsche fans continuously and openly rejected. In the end, Porsche had to give up their expansive line-up program because of a sluggish US economy. This decision, almost led close to corporate bankruptcy.
This era of Miami Vice and Mr. T, may have brought bitter disappointment for Porsche, but it also brought its brightest moment: the 959. The four-wheel drive 959 is the epitome of style and performance, a perfect blend of what the Porsche brand stands for. This limited production model had all the right ingredients: a twin-turbo rear-mounted flat-6 engine that developed 450 bhp, permanent four-wheel drive, plus a body and chassis based on the 911. Everyone wanted one so badly that the fetching price reached a cool USD 1,000,000.
The 959 won in prestigious rally events, capping off with a win at the challenging Paris to Dakar rally. A success in tarmac and sand, the 959 was directly responsible for making people perceive four-wheel drive Porsches in a different way. The 959 spawned a series of highly desirable, fiendishly fast and perfectly stable super cars such as the 911 Carrera 4 and the 911 Turbo.
Fast-forward to the new millennium, a time where Porsches still sell in record numbers thanks to a solid line-up of the Boxster and the 911. To secure the company’s continued independence as a car manufacturer and to fund future projects such as the Carrera GT, Porsche thought the unthinkable: an SUV. True enough, this is the first non-sports car that the company would be producing under its name (it did assemble the powerful Mercedes-Benz 500E before). With a seating capacity equaling three Boxsters, the Cayenne is expected to sell in huge numbers (around 25,000), a majority of which will be shipped to the United States.
Upon the release of the first development photographs, the black flag was raised again by Porsche enthusiasts. Typically males, whose topic of conversation range from ‘water-cooled versus air-cooled’ and ‘four-wheel drive versus rear-wheel drive’, they are barking mad with the idea of seeing suburban soccer moms in a USD 50,000 SUV wearing the same badge as their beloved supercar.
Not so quick says Porsche, who dispelled rumors that the company is turning to another Ford Motor Company. Porsche argues that the Cayenne is bound to become the yardstick against which all other SUVs will be measured on, whether it be in performance, styling or luxury. True enough; the Cayenne was developed for three years under different conditions from the deserts of the Sahara to the unforgiving fridgeness of the Artic. As a result, the Cayenne designers considered every variable in the design, wanting to produce an SUV that’s as sporty as a 911 and yet, as rugged and capable as the toughest Land Rover. In the end, they’ve produced a car that’s as tough as it is fast. To prove the Cayenne’s capabilities off-road, Porsche launched the Cayenne Crossing Initiative, a program not too different from our Ford Outfitters—where owners can mud-sling their Cayennes in historical trails accessible by SUVs. The highly capable chassis is equipped with permanent all-wheel drive, an inter-axle differential lock and additional low-range gears plus the Porsche Stability Management (PSM) system.
Wrapped in a shell that’s distinctly Porsche, the Cayenne features a low engine hood and strikingly styled headlamps that help identify its sports car origins. The Cayenne measures 4.8 m long by 1.9-m wide by 1.7 m tall, making it a close size rival of the BMW X5. The 2.9 m wheelbase shames the Mercedes-Benz M-class. The front bumper and belt line help identify it as a part of the Porsche family. At the side, the Cayenne is every bit as sporty and clean as its 911 brethren with the exception of the C-pillar windows which are clearly an SUV trademark. At the back, the Cayenne’s purity of design is echoed by the lack of tacky handles and creases. It is all about the smooth flowing lines that integrate the standard rear spoiler pretty well. The tail lamps may look more like an Audi than a Porsche; nonetheless it coherently blends into the overall look of the car.
There are two variants of the Cayenne which are distinguishable in both looks and performance. The top-end Cayenne Turbo receives additional front air inlets ala 911 Turbo, power domes on the hood and four tip exhaust tailpipes. They both ride on 18-inch alloys with an option for both 19 and gigantic 20-inchers to enhance the sporty look. The base Cayenne S gets by with a normally aspirated 4.5-liter DOHC 32-valve V8 engine developing 340-bhp and 42.86 kg/m of torque that translates to an un-SUV 0-100 km/h time of 7.2 seconds, eclipsing the Audi TT 1.8 Turbo. The killer in the range is the Cayenne Turbo which receives a twin turbo-charged version of the same engine. It gains 110 more horses (450 bhp) and 20.32 kg/m more torque (63.18 kg/m). This translates to a Boxster S level 0-100 km/h time of 5.6 seconds! The Cayenne S is mated to a standard 6-speed manual gearbox, while the Cayenne Turbo receives a six-speed Tiptronic S gearbox as standard.
The engine will be built at the Zuffenhausen plant while the body and final assembly will be at a new plant in Leipzig, Germany, the Cayenne is expected to raise the company’s worldwide sales by 50 percent. Porsche expects current Boxster and 911 owners to consider the Cayenne as an addition to their garage, despite the fact that typical owners already have a five-seater sedan and an SUV beside their Porsche.
The Cayenne’s power output and four-wheel drive configuration can be traced directly back to the 959 formula, a car that broke the mold back two decades ago. With the same twin-turbo and all-wheel drive formula, Porsche thinks that its latest offering will not become the demise of the brand. More than ever, the company sees the Cayenne as a potential to bring the word ‘sport’ back in the ‘sport utility’ equation in a seat-slamming, heart pounding manner that only Porsche could do. Designed as an integral part of the Porsche family, only time will tell if this car will reach the same cult status as its sports car brothers, the immediate concern for Porsche is that critics should put cynicism aside and look at the Cayenne for what it is: a ground-breaking, mud-plowing sports car. Traditional male owners shouldn’t be afraid of seeing lipstick-armed moms in the Cayenne. What traditionalists should be scared off is seeing these soccer moms in racing glove and Nomex underwear blasting the hell out of their Boxsters. An interesting thought, don’t you think?
By Ulysses Ang | Photos Courtesy of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG
Originally Published in the July 2002 Issue
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