4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol powertrain gets this SUV from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.3 seconds.
The Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT packs a punch like no other SUV. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe
Like many highly desirable things in life, you probably don’t need a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT. But then again, like many highly desirable things in life, you most certainly want it.
The people who came up with the phrase “money can’t buy you happiness” never experienced the sheer bliss spending R4 606 000 on set of wheels like this brings with it. If darting from 0 to 100km/h in 3.3 seconds in a comfortable SUV amid a stupendous engine roar doesn’t bring a smile to your face, you were simply born unhappy.
And that is basically the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT in a nutshell for you. It is a supercar disguised as an SUV. It not only accelerates like a demon in straight line, but its highly advanced hardware offers driving dynamics through the twisties which will put some high-performance sports cars to shame. At the same time, it offers all the practicality of a luxurious everyday family car big enough for the children, their school bags and the family pooch. That is if you not mind doggie hair all over the generous Alcantara finishing.
Hitting the ground running
This beastly Cayenne was first introduced in 2021 and made immediate headlines by becoming the fastest SUV around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a time of 7:38.925. It lost that record to the Audi RS Q8 Performance, which incidentally rides on the same platform, before the all-electric Xiaomi YU7 GT rewrote the time sheets in a time of 7:22.755 seconds.
After sampling the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT back in 2022, The Citizen Motoring recently spent time in the updated model which made its international debut a number of years ago already. The latest reiteration of the SUV features exterior tweaks, a revamped interior and a slight power bump.
On the outside, the Turbo GT features redesigned bumpers, a new bonnet and grille and wider wheel arches. At the rear, it sports new taillights as part of an altered apron.
Updates inside are more dramatic and the cabin now features a design very similar to that of the all-electric Taycan. It comes standard with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system alongside a 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster. Our tester didn’t feature the optional head-up display and 10.9-inch display on the passenger’s side, and we can safely say we didn’t even miss those.
Sportiness meets plushness
Like the rest of the updated Porsche Cayenne range, a brand-new centre console houses physical switchgear. Gone is the gear lever though, which is now a toggle switch on the dash. Unmoved though are the distinctive analog clock on the dashboard and the rotary drive mode selector on the steering wheel.
Alcantara finishing features everywhere inside the cabin alongside black leather with contrast stitching, carbon inserts and piano black touches. Alloy pedals, a 12 o’clock marker on the steering wheel and embossed GT Turbo logos on the headrests round off an interior which creates the perfect combination of performance sportiness and ultra comfortable plushness.
The fun really starts when you press the start button to bring to life the 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol engine. This beastly mill gained an additional 14kW to produce a total of 485kW of power, while its torque is still 850Nm. The twist goes to all four wheels via eight-speed Tiptronic transmission.
The sports exhaust system can be activated in Normal driving mode and it comes on by default in Sport and Sport Plus modes. And once you start stomping on the accelerator, the exhaust notes become as intoxicating as the brutal G-forces that accompanies the exhilarating acceleration.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT a supercar killer
When we tested the car back in 2022, it rocketed its way from 0 to 100km/h in a ridiculous time of 3.29 seconds. A time that is not only still makes it the fastest SUV on our time sheets, but also one that puts supercars like the Nissan GT-R, the Audi’s R8 V10, Mercedes-AMG GT-R and Ferrari’s 488 GTB to shame.
With the slight power bump, it might just go even quicker than before. Although the extra oomph could be offset by a variety of influencing factors like temperature during high-performance testing.
Helping you slow down the Cayenne Turbo GT is the standard-fit Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake system. Its stopping power is excellent considering there is 2 245kg of car to slow down. Especially when you need to rein it in from its top speed of 300km/h.
The Turbo GT won’t stay the most powerful or fastest local Porsche Cayenne forever. An eye-watering 850kW/1500Nm will get the incoming Cayenne Electric Turbo to 100km/h from a standstill in 2.6 seconds.
But the all-electric models are not set to replace the internal combustion engine derivatives. The Turbo GT provides the closest feeling to a sports car an SUV can ever wish for and kudos to Stuttgart for preserving this thrill for purists.
