Auto Shanghai opens on April 18, and one of the show’s stars is the refreshed Porsche Cayenne. Porsche recently teased the SUV’s interior, a heavy redo with Taycan inspirations combining big changes like a horizontal row of screens and small changes like push-button start instead of the tactile Porsche key turn. With this glimpse of the exterior makeover, we see even more appreciation of the Taycan. Porsche’s new HD Matrix headlamps occupy slimmer, wider housings. It’s possible these will be a premium option, though; we’ve seen prototypes that appear to be fitted with a less fancy version of these quad-section lights.
The daytime running lights have been moved into the upper section of a more imposing grille, that grille sectioned into three parts with thicker stanchions on some trims.
The report from Autocar‘s test drive suggests there’s a great deal more involved than the reskin would suggest. Porsche’s edited the engine range from bottom to top. Keeping in mind that final outputs are market-dependent, the 3.0-liter V6 in the base Cayenne is said to go from 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque to 349 hp and 369 lb-ft. The Audi 2.9-liter V6 in the Cayenne S will retire, making room for Porsche’s 4.0-liter V8, thereby bumping output from 434 hp and 405 lb-ft to 469 hp and 443 lb-ft. The same 4.0-liter in the Cayenne Turbo GT is anticipated to go from 631 hp and 626 lb-ft to 651 hp while maintaining the same twist. Changes are coming on the Cayenne Hybrid powertrains, too, plus the suspension, rear-wheel steering and wheel sizes.
It appears Porsche’s turn to EVs has done more for the Cayenne than expected. Execs gave engineers more freedom after extending the SUV’s life and committing to an electric version. Porsche said they developed this updated model as if creating a new product from scratch, and have put prototypes through more than 2.5 million miles of testing. Check out Autocar‘s report for the skinny.
And look to China in four days for the rest of the story, where the Cayenne will take its first public bow on April 18.
