When the 2024 Porsche Cayenne launched, something was missing. Buyers had the choice of E-Hybrid, S, and Turbo GT trims, but there was a weird void where the regular Turbo trim once sat. Well, it’s now back, but this time with an electric twist. That’s because the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid is the first Cayenne Turbo to come standard as a plug-in hybrid, a clever way to get around trim-level shuffling while providing a unique consolation prize in markets with some of the world’s more stringent emissions standards.
The S trim was once again getting a V8, an engine configuration not seen on that model since 2014. Essentially a higher-output version of the engine found in the old Cayenne GTS, the new Cayenne S makes an extra 33 horsepower and 36 lb.-ft. of torque over the old V6 model. That’s not a huge power bump, but it’s enough to put a little more pressure on higher trim levels. At the same time, the top-dog Cayenne Turbo GT saw minor power gains, but Evo magazine reports that it “will not be returning to Europe due to ever-tightening emissions regulations.” What Porsche had to do with the new Cayenne Turbo was distance it from the regular S model while providing a second-choice option for some would-be Turbo GT buyers.
In the Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid, a 591-horsepower version of the four-liter twin-turbocharged corporate V8 gets assistance from a 130 kW electric motor for a combined output of 729 horsepower and 700 lb.-ft. of torque. Yep, that’s a lot of power. However, it’s not quite enough to catch the unbelievably quick Cayenne Turbo GT. With a manufacturer-claimed zero-to-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid is four tenths behind the Turbo GT model.
Then again, the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid offers something practical that the Turbo GT can’t — a huge 25.9 kWh battery pack. Okay, huge is relative, but that’s a big pack for a plug-in hybrid. The old Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid had a 14.1 kWh battery pack, so we’re talking about an 83 percent capacity increase, which should make for commodious all-electric driving range. Oh, and that new battery pack can charge at up to 11 kW, plenty speedy for a plug-in hybrid. Needless to say, I’m excited to see EPA numbers for this thing.
With more power comes the need for more control, so standard equipment includes Porsche’s much-vaunted two-chamber, two-valve air suspension that basically means compression and rebound rates are adjusted separately by a little computer for better body control and ride quality. In addition, all Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid models come with Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus, which should come in handy by promoting yaw on corner entry. However, if that isn’t enough for you, you’re in a market with stiff emissions restrictions, and you’re willing to pop for the swoopy-roofed Cayenne Coupe model, a little something called the GT Package might pique your interest.
As you might expect, the GT Package takes bits from the Turbo GT Nürburgring-bred psychopath and bolts them to the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe. We’re talking about new bushings, revised air suspension calibration, a 10 mm reduction in ride height, an extra 0.58 degrees of negative front camber, a carbon fiber roof, carbon ceramic brakes, and a whole host of cosmetic bits. As with on non-GT Package models, active roll stabilization and rear-axle steering remain optional, although they’re probably well worth it in a performance vehicle this heavy. Don’t count on the GT Package making it to North America, seeing as how we already get the top-dog Cayenne Turbo GT, but it is a fascinating moment in Porsche history. Offering GT-car suspension and appearance bits as an option package on a hybrid model is fairly unprecedented, and an interesting way to comply with emissions standards.
In addition to upgrades in thrust and handling, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid also gets some cosmetic alterations over the more common Cayenne S. For instance, the previously optional SportDesign appearance package now comes standard and features a revised, Turbo-specific blacked-out front grille for a more aggressive look. Red brake calipers and dual brushed exhaust tips also come standard, while aluminum interior trim and a suede-like headliner help round out the Turbo model’s looks. It’s all fairly subtle, but there’s beauty in restraint.
On first look, the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid teams weapons-grade performance with errand-friendly all-electric capability and a footprint that’s perfectly manageable in most North American cities. However, such luxury, performance, and size comes at a price. The standard Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid starts at $148,550 including a $1,650 freight charge, while the Coupe variant carries a base price of $153,050. While most luxury SUV shoppers would be just fine with a lesser trim, the people explicitly seeking Cayenne Turbos aren’t exactly the type to settle. Who said having it all ever came cheap?
(Photo credits: Porsche)
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It may surprise some people to learn that SUV-maker Porsche also has a small sideline making boutique sports cars.
/s
Automakers: these onerous emission standards are killing us! Also, here’s another 700+hp SUV. I suppose it’s a hybrid. I’m sure that makes all the difference.
As an automotive enthusiast, I am unabashedly in favor of this sort of PHEV performance within our new ecological circumstances. Getting 0-60 into the 3.5 second range in a CUV, any CUV, is simply ludicrous. That it is a vehicle from Porsche which manages this feat of engineering, is about how I expect the world to work. That it happens to cost almost exactly twice the average annual American income ($148,550.00 vs. $74,738.00) is a thing which is unsurprising to me as well. Of course it does. This is NOT a conveyance for the unwashed masses.
Still, I can remember a once-upon-a-time, when it was possible to get a blisteringly quick station wagon, with a police interceptor engine, and all on the salary of a middle management guy or a regular union employee.
Things are different now. And I’m not sure that I like it. Neither the fact that station wagons have morphed into tall, egg-shaped ‘CUV’ thingies. Nor the fact that the prices which manufacturers seem to think are appropriate for them, have effectively priced such performance out of the market, for the vast majority of regular people.
The techno-color world promised to me in my youth, has turn into a grey reality.
I am wistful. And a little bit sad. Even as I cheer on our ‘progress’.
If the dear readers here haven’t figured it out yet, the end point of the new regulations is that the poors can’t own cars. 15 minute cities don’t need cars. People who can’t afford to go anywhere, don’t need cars. These new cars are not for “us” they are for “them”.
Every year there are new rules added, which means more costs to pass on to us, more trackers to see where we go and less control over something we paid a shit ton of money for. But people keep eating it up if they are told its for the enviorment.
Antithesis;
COLIN CHAPMAN once famously said of his Lotus road and race cars, ‘Simplify, then add lightness’. It was the idea on which his company was founded: using the least amount of parts to achieve the best possible performance.
…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOqFz3iPcTQ
That is all. 432532421/10, good parsh, love it, want it, perfect for towing my parsh with a parsh. Please bring back Mahogany Metallic as a color option before I win the lotto and make an extremely necessary purchase.
One thing people underestimate on these giant luxury crossovers is the consumable cost. Tires for these heavy barges with big wheels are hideously expensive, often in the $2000-2500 range to have them shipped, installed and balanced.
Air struts don’t last very long, and tend to be the better part of $1800/corner for just parts, never mind the labor to install them. Oh, and never replace just one. Every mechanic will tell you to do them all, because of the countless times some customer tried to be, “clever” and ended up replacing all of them anyways, one by one over 12 to 18 months.
The brakes to stop these things are another one. Porsche doesn’t annihilate their brake rotors, but some brands do. A full brake service with new rotors and pads can be a few grand.
This class of vehicle is never cheap to run, and it never feels good. At least with sports cars you have a much stronger feeling that you, “used up” components. Though with these big, comfy, conveyances, just the weight and continuous use of them just devours the corner consumables, and I imagine it must feel grating to hand over the rewards credit card to service them.
I remember being tempted by a certified Macan a few years ago, then looking up common problems/operating costs and saying “thanks but no thanks”. I’m in a different financial situation now and may take the dive in a few years, but at my salary back then it would’ve been an unnecessary dice roll.
Would love to own this and many other Porsche vehicles. It is made for a different class of person though. And even if I could, it wouldn’t read well where I live and I would feel like a jackass.
If I ever really do it big somehow, my vacation home will have one of these for the family days and some nice 911’s for myself when I want “to go fast”.
In reality, I’ll keep bumming around my town in my Tundra for the foreseeable future, and if I’m lucky, past that as well.
A few things:
1). As one of the resident Porsche nerds I should know this….but isn’t this V8 a derivative of the 4 liter one that’s been used in some Audi S/RS products? That engine is notoriously problematic…so much so that you can find decent enough examples of used cars that have it for like 50 grand.
I’m sure while it’s on a factory warranty it’s fine, and Porsche does seem to have some sort of voodoo they do that undoes the VW-ness to an extent, but I’ve always been told this is an engine to avoid.
2). As a concept I’m completely fine with this product. If the cars get used in full electric mode to their full capacity it’s going to have a significantly smaller carbon footprint than the V8 alone. PHEVs and Hybrids work right now and don’t require you to drive 69,000+ miles to offset the amount of carbon it takes to produce them.
Hell, I’m crossing my fingers that eventually some performance minded PHEVs that us plebs can actually dream of owning will hit the scene. The Volvo PHEVs are very close but they don’t quite have the engagement factor down. I’d love to consider a PHEV sport sedan as my next car and I hope that segment grows.
You are correct. It is an Audi derived V8. However, I am not really that concerned about this specific application, since I believe it is statistically the most reliable of all power plants available in the Cayenne. I could be wrong about that. But the last numbers I looked at were surprisingly good.
I mean, it’s nice and all, but I feel like this is just more of the same “let them eat cake” mentality that the automakers seem to think is great right now. This is literally a car that costs as much as my house did when I bought it in 2020. A CAR that costs as much as a HOUSE. It’s another bauble for the investing class, and entirely irrelevant for the vast majority of people who work for a living, other than the auto journalists who get to taste that good life for a week at a time. Yeah, that pretty much sums up the entire Porsche (Aston, Ferrari, etc. etc.) lineup. In all honesty, I am growing to hate hearing about all of these fantastic, amazing machines for the haves that even someone like me, with a very healthy salary, will never be able to touch until they are fully depreciated hoopties. I’d rather read reviews and news about cars for actual people that can actually be bought by someone who isn’t a member of the 1%.
Rant over. It’s very cool, and I’d love to drive one, but six-figure cars are ridiculous.
I agree. It is very cool and yet the headline made me (figuratively) yawn.
The upside is that depreciation on four-door Porsches is crazy, so…can someone please hire me so I can look at gently used Mahogany Metallic second-gens with tow packages? Thanks in advance.
Glad to see the L2 charging speed of 11kw, which is the most important thing for PHEV in terms of charging – that’s about 35-40miles/hour (or maybe less in the case of this beast). That’s a good amount for a quick charge at home, or out running errands/a meal.
In the case of my old volt, or current rav4 prime – they only get 3.3kw…so it’s like 10miles at best in an hour…which a lot of the time isn’t even worth the hassle.
That said, most public charging isn’t going to hit that…yet.
My guess for the EPA Range: 50 miles under perfect conditions lol