FEATURE - Porsche Cayenne history
Words: Mike Ryan
Photos: Porsche
Since it was introduced in 2002, the Cayenne has been a mainstay of Porsche’s global success in the new millennium. And while the addition of an SUV to the portfolio of the famous German sports car manufacturer may seem like a no-brainer today, it was far from obvious 20 years ago.
In the mid-1990s, Porsche had to make some big decisions in order to secure its long-term success. The company found itself in one of the most significant economic crises in its history: it was in the red and had delivered only 23,060 cars in the 1991/92 financial year.
Launching the Boxster in 1996 saw Porsche begin to manoeuvre out of its slump but it quickly became clear that the legendary 911 sports car and the new, mid-engined Boxster would not be able to put the company back into the black on their own.
Plans for a ‘third Porsche’ began to take shape in the mid-90s, but several years earlier, Ferry Porsche (son of company founder Ferdinand Porsche) had predicted which route the company would ultimately take in expanding their range.
“If we build an off-road model according to our standards of quality, and it has a Porsche crest on the front, people will buy it,” Ferry said upon his retirement from the company in 1989.
As prescient as Ferry’s opinion was, it wasn’t one that was widespread within Porsche at the time. This reflected a general resistance amongst prestige and performance automotive brands to go down the route of an SUV, as they felt such a vehicle wasn’t in tune with their image.
As much as the boom in the SUV market during the 1990s couldn't be ignored, it wasn't the only segment experiencing growth at the time, with people movers also popular. Had Porsche selected another path, the Cayenne could have been a model in the vein of a Toyota Tarago or Honda Odyssey. This was seriously considered for Porsche’s third model.
However, on the recommendation of their sales organisation in the US (their largest market at the time), Porsche decided to go with an off-road vehicle.
The goals were ambitious right from the start - Porsche was not content to merely build a sporty SUV. They aimed to give established competitors in the off-road segment a run for their money, too.
Project ‘Colorado’
If you discount the short-lived Type 597 that was produced in the 1950s, Porsche had no experience in off-roaders when the commitment to build one was finally made. They had limited resources, too, so a joint venture with Volkswagen was initiated that would see development and costs shared.
Officially announced in June, 1998, ‘Project Colorado’ would see Porsche and VW develop a common platform, to which each brand would apply their own drivetrains, suspension set-ups and styling, ultimately resulting in the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg.
Porsche would be responsible for developing the off-roader's platform at its top-secret site in Hemmingen, while Volkswagen contributed its expertise in large volume manufacturing.
Exactly where the Touareg/Cayenne would be manufactured was a matter of some conjecture, with VW choosing their factory in Bratislava, Slovakia, while Porsche decided to keep production within Germany, constructing a new facility in Leipzig, which was officially opened in 2002; the same year the Cayenne made its public debut.
Although Cayennes would be assembled at Leipzig, the bodies were constructed and painted at Bratislava first. This arrangement stayed in place for the first two Cayenne generations - known internally as E1 and E2 – but with the launch of the third generation (E3) in 2017, all production moved to Bratislava. This allowed space at Leipzig for construction of both the Panamera sports sedan and Macan compact SUV.
Three-way versatility
Upon its launch, Porsche described the Cayenne as a family-friendly touring vehicle that’s also a robust off-roader and highly dynamic sports car. With this trio of characteristics, the Cayenne has done much to shape the upper end of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment, arguably paving the way for many high-performance and premium SUVs that have followed.
On its debut in 2002, the Cayenne was offered with a V8 engine in two states of tune. In the Cayenne S, a newly developed 4.5-litre V8 generated 250kW, while the Cayenne Turbo delivered 331kW. These variants reached top speeds of 242km/h and 266km/h respectively.
It wasn’t all just about speed, though. Expectations in terms of the chassis were met with cornering dynamics handled by newly introduced electronic systems.
Porsche Traction Management (PTM) distributed drive power between the rear and front axles in a ratio of 62:38 as standard but could send all power to the front or rear axle, if required.
Away from paved roads, capability was ensured with a low-range transfer case and fully locking centre differential. According to Porsche, the four-wheel drive system in the original Cayenne was the equal of competitor off-roaders.
While off-road capability remains, refining the on-road dynamics has arguably been Porsche's focus since the first-generation version, reflective of the fact that many modern SUVs, and particularly premium models like the Cayenne, rarely venture off tarmac.
Another new technology developed for the original Cayenne was Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), which continuously regulated the damping force of the shocks and incorporated the condition of the road and even the driving style into its calculations.
Air suspension was standard on the first-generation Cayenne, too, and allowed an already impressive ground clearance of 217mm to rise to 273mm.
Porsches are all about performance, though, so it wasn’t long before customers were demanding more than what the original Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo were producing. Porsche responded in 2006 with the introduction of the Cayenne Turbo S, which used the same 4.5-litre V8, but now in biturbo form, resulting in 383kW; exceptional for the standards of the time.
Lighter, Faster, Better
“Establish, sharpen, refine” is Porsche head of design Michael Mauer’s description of the evolution of the Cayenne’s design, but it could also apply to the SUV’s technical progress.
To reduce weight, the second generation ‘E2’ Cayenne that was introduced in 2010 saw the low-range transfer case replaced with an on-demand all-wheel drive system and actively controlled multi-plate clutch that’s still in use on the current Cayenne.
The E2 also saw the introduction of hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains that feature a Torsen centre differential. Existing engine offerings gained additional power, while reducing fuel consumption by up to 23 per cent.
For the third-generation ‘E3’ that debuted in 2017, the objective was to heighten the Cayenne’s range of capabilities even further.
“It was all about making it sportier with greater ride comfort while maintaining off-road capabilities,” said Hans-Jürgen Wöhler, head of the Porsche SUV series from 2013 to 2020. “A three-chamber air suspension and rear-axle steering were specially developed for this purpose.
“The new aluminium bodyshell saved weight, making the vehicle even more efficient and agile. The E3 was also intended to offer a wide range of driver support capabilities through numerous new assistance systems.”
These driver assistance systems would be integrated into one unit on the E3, with updated connectivity via smartphone integration, WiFi and Bluetooth.
Hello Hybrid, Goodbye Diesel
Reflecting global moves away from diesel vehicles, the third-generation Cayenne also saw the previously available 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 dropped and plug-in hybrid technology ramped up.
The foundation for today’s electrified Cayenne variants was laid back in 2007 and presented in concept form before coming onto the market in 2010 with the second-generation Cayenne, which happened to be the first series-production hybrid vehicle of any type offered by Porsche.
This was followed four years later by the first plug-in hybrid, which replaced the nickel-metal hydride battery with a lithium-ion one. While the supercharged V6 engine remained the same, e-motor output increased from 34kW to 70 kW, resulting in total output increasing from 279kW to 306kW.
On electric power alone, plug-in hybrid variants of the current Cayenne can reach speeds of up to 135km/h, with range of up to 44km. The hybrid models use a 17.9kWh battery and 100kW electric motor for WLTP cycle fuel consumption as low as 2.4lt/100km.
Currently, the most powerful Cayenne variant is a hybrid, specifically the Turbo S E-Hybrid, which has been available since 2019 and features 500kW maximum output with combined fuel consumption of 3.2lt/100km on the NEDC cycle.
As with all plug-in hybrids from Porsche, the electric energy can be used for additional thrust in any driving mode. For example, in the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, harnessing the combined 900Nm available allows acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds.
Supercar on any Terrain
Since it was introduced, the Cayenne has demonstrated its capabilities in a range of extreme conditions.
In 2006, two private teams entered a Cayenne S in the two-week, 7,000km Transsyberia Rally from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia – and took first and second place.
Inspired by this, Porsche developed a limited run of 26 ‘Cayenne S Transsyberia’ cars as a customer racing vehicle, adding a rollcage, shorter axle ratio, diff lock, reinforced front wishbones, reinforced underbody panelling and all-terrain tyres.
The 4.5 V8 was unchanged, as were most of the factory features that had been incorporated into the production Cayenne up to that point, like direct fuel injection and Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control that largely eliminated body roll in corners, while enabling greater axle articulation.
At the 2007 Transsyberia Rally, these factory-prepared SUVs scored a 1-2-3 finish, with seven finishing inside the top 10. A year later, 19 further optimised Cayenne S Transsyberia models started the Siberia Rally and took all but sixth place in the top 10.
More recently, in 2021, a Cayenne Turbo GT set a new SUV lap record on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife of 7:38.925. Powered by a 471kW 4.0-litre biturbo V8, the Cayenne Turbo GT can also sprint from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 300km/h.
The Roadrunner Project
The Cayenne Turbo GT is a product of a dedicated on-road performance programme that started in 2004 under the project name ‘Roadrunner’ and overseen by Oliver Laqua, now overall vehicle project manager for the Cayenne.
“We planned to dispense with the transfer case, because that saved 80 kilograms of weight. And we thought about four racing bucket seats for further weight reduction and a more emotive feel,” Laqua recalls.
The idea that an SUV had to offer all-wheel drive was still paramount back in the early 2000s, so the RWD Roadrunner project wasn’t met with enthusiasm by Porsche’s decision makers, but Laqua and his team did get their way with a naturally aspirated V8 engine instead of a turbocharged one.
Other standard equipment included a six-speed manual transmission and a specially developed chassis that combined the steel suspension with PASM controlled damping – a concept that until then had been reserved for two-door sports cars.
The Roadrunner project would ultimately come to market as the Cayenne GTS in 2007, reviving a name last seen in 1995 on the 928 GTS.
Powered by a 4.8lt V8 delivering 298kW initially, output rose to 309kW for the second-generation Carrera GTS, while the 2015 model update saw a switch from the naturally aspirated V8 to a V6 biturbo. Despite the smaller displacement, this offered 15kW more power and consumed less fuel.
The current Cayenne GTS has returned to V8 power, this time a 4.0-litre unit producing 338kW. Inspired by the success of the Cayenne GTS, every model line at Porsche now includes a sporty GTS variant.
Fast Start, Ongoing Success
Soon after its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September, 2002, the Cayenne became a worldwide success and would go on to exceed expectations.
Porsche had predicted 25,000 sales annually, but total sales of 276,652 for the eight model years of the first generation averaged out at just under 35,000 vehicles per year – a 40 per cent increase on initial expectations.
Subsequent generations have repeated this success, despite the smaller and cheaper Macan SUV stealing some of the Cayenne’s customers in recent years. In 2021, well over 80,000 Cayennes were delivered, with the milestone millionth vehicle rolling off the Bratislava production line in 2020.
“With the Cayenne, we have succeeded - for the first time - in transferring the Porsche legend to a completely new market segment,” said Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, back in 2017.
"Our sports car in the SUV segment has proven to be a bestseller and growth engine since 2002. The Cayenne has opened the door to many new markets for Porsche and made a significant contribution to the internationalisation of our sales network.”
Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche, adds: “As a style icon in the SUV segment, the Cayenne has helped strengthen the appeal of our brand, particularly in China and other Asian markets.
“The Cayenne has always been a major draw for our brand. It has brought many new customers and fans from all over the world to Porsche over the past 20 years, and I’m sure its popularity will remain strong in the future.”
