In early May, a mysterious Cayenne prototype was spotted carving up the Nurbrugring. With disinct camouflage and never before seen center exit exhausts, we knew it was a new car; actually, one of two. We concluded that it was either the new Cayenne GTS or an all new flagship-a Cayenne with the Panamera “Lion” powerplant. Well, that mystery model has finally been revealed and it’s not the all new 800+ hp Cayenne “Lion” but rather just the mid range Cayenne GTS. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just not too exciting; we were all expecting it.
Photo Credit: HERE
Anyway, this isn’t the first Cayenne GTS we’ve had, but it is the first Cayenne Coupe GTS we’ve ever seen, and the good news is they finally get a proper engine. Gone is the 2.9 liter twin turbo V6 in favor of a proper 4.0 liter twin turbo V8. This is the same engine found in the Panamera GTS. In both cars, the engine pumps out 453 hp and 457 lb/ft of torque, not bad for a family SUV. Unlike the Panamera though, the power in the Cayenne is routed through a more traditional 8 speed automatic transmission rather than a PDK transmission. With all wheel drive as standard, both models rocket themselves to 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds (that’s more than half a second faster than my 997 911!) and top out at a very respectable 168 mph.
Long story short, these new models are FAST, especially considering they can comfortably seat 5 and have the aerodynamics of my refrigerator. They sound really good too. Just last week I heard a Panamera GTS start up and do a launch control and let me tell you, that is one mean engine. It sounded like a cross between a McLaren and a BMW M5-imagine that pulling up to the kids’ soccer game.
For those that don’t know, a GTS badge on a Porsche equates to a power upgrade, and lots of options that you could get for the S model come as standard. Following suit, the new Cayenne and Cayenne Coupe GTS models come equipped with the Sport Design Package, 21 inch RS Spyder design wheels, along with lots of black trim and GTS badging to match. Both cars also come with tweaked versions of Porsche’s sport suspension, PASM, along with a sports exhaust system (hence the center exit exhausts). Both cars are about 1.2 inches lower than their S counterparts, meaning they can handle even better through the mountain roads near the family lake house. Not bad at all.
But the real question is how much you have to pay for all these upgrades over a standard Cayenne S or Cayenne Coupe S. Well the standard Cayenne GTS starts at $107,300 while the Cayenne Coupe GTS starts at $110,500. This means that the GTS demands a rather significant $22,200 premium over the standard S and a $20,600 premium over the Coupe S. It is a bit much but keep in mind, that a lot of things that come standard on the GTS are options on the lesser models, so it’s not that bad of a buy. If I had the money, I’d get it just for the V8 but that’s just me. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed either way.
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