The Cayenne was a bit of a game changer when it was introduced to the Porsche line-up in the early 2000s. At the time, Porsche was slowly digging itself out of a sales hole, but while diversifying its line-up away from just sports cars might have upset purists, it played a huge part in turning the firm’s fortunes around.
Now there’s a baker’s dozen of Cayenne variants on sale, with the latest being this: the Cayenne Turbo GT. Just because it’s an SUV doesn’t mean Porsche won’t bless it with monstrous performance, and the GT takes this to the model’s most extreme yet.
It’s based on the Cayenne Turbo but gets a bit more power, styling tweaks and mechanical upgrades that make it better in corners. It’s 17mm lower to improve the centre of gravity, the air suspension is more rigid, the active roll stabilisation has been tweaked with performance in mind, and the front axle upgrades improve turn-in.
It also has wider tyres to improve grip, with the Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres developed specifically for the car. This is a big, heavy car to be driving at pace, so it gets ceramic brakes as well. There’s also a faster-shifting gearbox and a titanium sports exhaust that’s lighter and more heat resistant. The list goes on…