The Porsche Cayenne GTS: Sportiness in an SUV
Source: DurhamRegion.com
Porsche has earned its reputation in the automotive world by building high-performance, high-end sports cars, yet interestingly, its bestseller is the Cayenne, a sport utility vehicle. Porsche obviously understood the market and the Cayenne has proven to be a huge success. In 2014, the Cayenne accounted for about one-third of all Porsche sales worldwide with deliveries of 65,941 units.
Porsche builds sportiness into its SUVs. The manufacturer has also continued to expand the SUV portfolio over the years with new models that appeal to a different buyer. In fact, Porsche offers seven models in the Cayenne lineup, including the high-performance GTS. The GTS is not the most powerful Cayenne in the stable, but it perhaps offers the best combination of performance, athleticism and panache with its 440 hp, high-performance chassis and melodic engine sound.
Porsche likes to brag that every Porsche is a sports car and this is quite evident in the Cayenne GTS that has turned an 8:13 minute lap time at the famed Nurburgring circuit in Germany.
The interesting thing here is that the powerplant in the GTS has been downsized for 2016 with a 3.6-litre V6 twin-turbo replacing the previous V8. However, the result is an increase in power with 20 extra hp and 63 lb/ft of added torque. Fuel economy has also been improved with the new engine.
Porsche quotes a 0-100 time of 5.1 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono Package, which our tester had, and 5.2 seconds without. This makes it about a half second faster than the previous model. In the Cayenne lineup, the GTS sits between the Cayenne S and the Cayenne Turbo. Not only is the GTS quick, it has the sound to go with it thanks to a sport exhaust system and sound symposer that creates what Porsche refers to as a “passionate engine sound.”
The GTS differs from other Cayenne models in ride height. It has been lowered 20 mm and comes standard with air suspension and the braking system from the Cayenne Turbo, featuring 390 mm front discs and 358 mm rear discs, both highlighted by red brake calipers.
All models come with an eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. In this system, power is transferred to the rear wheels and then routed to the front wheels as needed.
The GTS has many of the Cayenne Turbo design cues including the front end with large air intakes. There is a GTS logo on the lower section of the front doors. The SportDesign Package is standard equipment and it includes more powerfully contoured side skirts, and wheel arch extensions as well as the Turbo front end. Wheels are 20-inchers with a black satin finish.
Inside, the cabin is beautifully finished, particularly with our optional GTS package in Carmine Red.
Read more about the Cayenne GTS on DurhamRegion.com