All-new Porsche Cayenne Electric edges closer to showrooms
Porsche’s flagship electric SUV is about to drop with cutting-edge tech and modern styling
Porsche is on the cusp of revealing its second all-electric SUV, with the Cayenne next in line to adopt an all-electric powertrain. The Porsche Cayenne EV will arrive in the coming months, and when it does there will be Coupe and SUV bodystyles to choose from.
The electric Cayenne won’t replace the existing ICE-powered model, but will sit alongside it in the Porsche range, giving customers plenty of choice.
The range will kick off with entry-level 4 and high performance Turbo variants. These will differ in their powertrains, but they’ll also look quite distinct from one another. New images of the base Cayenne show it featuring almost no camouflage, giving us a great idea of what the production version will look like.
The current Porsche Cayenne is priced from over £77,000 and you can currently get three-year old models from around £55,000 through our Buy A Car service. With the Smaller Porsche Macan Electric starting from just under £70,000, it’s certain that the new EV Cayenne will push those prices closer to the £100,000 mark.
What will the electric Porsche Cayenne look like?
Fundamentally, the new model’s proportions will sit somewhere between the current Macan EV and the existing Cayenne. It’ll feature a shorter bonnet matched to a relatively upright and boxy body behind. The wheelbase will be longer than the current model’s, but the overhangs are shorter meaning the overall length shouldn’t grow by much.
Up front, high-mounted headlights integrate all the lighting units, rather than just the daytime-running lights and indicators of the Macan EV. A simple lower fascia features active grille shutters to improve aerodynamics. At the rear, Porsche has reimagined the light bar, with the unit likely to be more three-dimensional.
To help disguise some of the car’s mass, Porsche has fitted contrasting black bumpers along the car’s base and wheel arches – this is finished in matte grey plastic on this low-level prototype, but higher-spec models will be offered with gloss black or body-colour options depending on the model. The windows are also now frameless, helping give the car a sleeker appearance.
All Cayennes will run a big wheel and tyre package, with wheel sizes likely to range between 20 and 23-inches. Turbo models, as have been previously seen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, feature more aggressive design details, including new front and rear bumpers with larger intakes. Porsche will also introduce a new Coupe variant.
What electric motors and batteries will the Cayenne EV use?
Just like the Macan EV, the new Cayenne EV will run on Porsche’s 800V PPE electric architecture. However, it’ll also introduce a range of new technologies that will make this electric generation faster, more dynamic and more capable than even the previous ICE version, starting with the suspension.
Porsche has confirmed that it’ll fit high-spec Cayenne models with its clever Active Ride Control system as previously introduced on the Taycan and Panamera. This system is truly ‘active’ as it uses clever technology to make the wheels truly independent of one another. This will give the car superb ride quality when wanted, but then excellent body control when needed. Other chassis technology like rear-wheel steering, air-suspension and torque vectoring will also be included.
Most models will run a dual-motor layout, with the battery capacity still to be confirmed, but likely to sit above the 100kWh found in the new Macan. It’s unknown whether Porsche will offer an entry-level two-wheel drive option.
Power will probably be around 400bhp at the lower-end but could top out nearer to 800-900bhp for the Turbo – a figure the EV will need to compete with high performance rivals from AMG, BMW and Audi.
Porsche has also prioritised the new Cayenne’s towing capacity, confirming that it’ll be rated at up to 3.5 tonnes with a braked trailer. This is the highest of any current EV sold in the UK.
What do we know about the Cayenne EV’s interior and tech?
The new Cayenne’s cabin will introduce a new set of digital interfaces. The bad news is that if you’re into buttons, there’s not likely to be many. Instead, a new range of screens will take up a majority of the dashboard’s real estate, including a main touchscreen that curve down towards the centre console.
A big driver’s display and passenger screen will flank it, but Porsche is expected to retain at least some controls for air conditioning. A large head-up display will also be part of the package.
There’s sure to be more space compared to the current Cayenne, and the EV will feature a completely flat floor opening up second row legroom. Other elements, like a full-length glass roof with electro-chromic elements and clever interior lighting will also be integrated, plus it could also be the next model to integrate the Apple CarPlay Ultra system, which takes over all the car’s displays.
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