We’re actually mere hours away from the official unveil of the third-generation Porsche Cayenne, but over the weekend there were some itchy fingers on a keyboard and/or mouse somewhere in the UK that lead to these pictures leaking out early.
They were revealed early on AutoExpress, who have since taken down the post.
Consistent with our long-held hunch, Porsche is indeed taking cues from both the Macan and - more interestingly - their Panamera Sport Turismo to inform the lines and angles on this brand new Cayenne. However, some genetics of the outgoing facelifted second-generation SUV can be seen here too, particularly up at the front.
While that resemblance could be a little disappointing for those expecting a dramatic reimagining, they can rest knowing that surface similarity is all that they are. The 2018 Cayenne sits on a whole new platform and boasts a very long list of swap-outs and upgrades over its 2011 predecessor.
Rather than pointlessly speculating, we’ll instead wait until Porsche reveals the whole slew improvements and all-new features as we’re sure they are keen on doing. There’s already quite a lot to inform our initial impression of the car just from these pictures.
The Cayenne looks to be more compact overall, though that could be the result of clever design and packaging, notably with the 5-point illumination cluster up front and tail lamps linked by a vertical brake strip just like that found on the Panamera and 718.
Despite being badged as the entry level Cayenne (no 4S, GTS, Turbo, etc) this already looks quite aggressive, or at least compared to the base looks of the older version. We’re very curious how far Porsche can take the idea of a high-performance SUV with this acting as a base.
The interior is of particular interest, as it does borrow much from the Panamera such as the touch-sensitive buttons surrounding the gear lever and the central front air conditioning vents positioned below a widescreen infotainment unit. That said, it isn’t as ensconcing, with much more elbow room afforded to the front passengers and generally a more ‘up-high’ feeling while still keeping a sporty vibe. In all honestly, it kind reminds us of the upcoming Range Rover Velar.
Power, and the means it’s generated, though, can be termed as the more predictable of variables. At the lower to mid-range we should find either a turbocharged 3.0-litre or newer 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engines, the latter being the same used in other Audi RS5 among others.
At the high end, i.e Turbo and Turbo S territory, we should see Porsche putting their 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 to good use. There will be a hybrid at various points in the powertrain range but a new addition could be a Cayenne Turbo SE Hybrid that uses identical powerplant(s) to the Panamera equivalent, producing 500kW and 850Nm.
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