2015 Porsche Cayenne gets a plug-in hybrid

Porsche unveiled the facelifted 2015 Cayenne, which has a sharper design, improved efficiency and, of course, better  performance figures. Considered as a sports car among SUVs, this five-seater will be offered in five variants Cayenne Diesel, Cayenne S, Cayenne S Diesel, Cayenne S E-Hybrid, and Cayenne Turbo.

The real highlight are the two powerplants -- a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid and a twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre V6. According to Porsche, the S E-Hybrid is "the first plug-in hybrid in the premium SUV segment". It  uses the same parallel plug-in hybrid system as the Panamera, pairing a 94hp electric motor to a 3-litre supercharged V6 gasoline engine generating a combined 410hp at 5,500 rpm and 589Nm of peak torque from 1,250 to 4,000 rpm. With this powertrain, the Cayenne shoots to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds and has a top speed of 243km/h. Porsche claims in electric mode, its top speed is 126km/h.The lithium-ion traction battery with an energy capacity of 10.9 kWh enables an all-electric driving range of 18 to 36 km, depending on the style of driving and nature of the route.

On the other hand, the 3.6-litre twin-turbo V6 engine petrol variant replaces the naturally-aspirated the 4.8-litre V8. The new engine pumps out 414hp, 19hp more than the previous powerplant, and with the standard eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission it does 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds, 0.4 seconds faster than the V8. The V6's top speed is 257km/h.

Cayenne retains the present diesel variants like the 3-litre V6 engine which produces 262 hp at 4,000 rpm and the 4.2-litre V8 engine which pumps out 385 hp at 3,750 rpm and awe-inspiring torque of 850 Nm from 2,000 to 2,750 rpm.

The new Cayenne can be clearly identified by its bi-Xenon headlights, which are standard on Cayenne and S models, with characteristic four-point LED daytime running lights typical of Porsche. The distinctive appearance of the high performance standard bearer, the Cayenne Turbo, is further emphasised by LED headlights with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS) fitted as standard.

The Cayenne is a unique success story at Porsche. The company introduced the first generation in 2002, and made the idea of a sports car in the SUV segment a reality – and it set a new benchmark right from the start.

Sales have exceeded all expectations. Over 276,000 examples of the first generation  Porsche Cayenne were produced (2002 to 2010), and around 303,000 units of the second generation, which was introduced in 2010, have been produced so far. Over this period, the Cayenne is not only boosting profitable growth at Porsche, it is also creating a solid economic foundation for investments in future generations of sports cars.