Why Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo Coupe breaks the rules

It’s the sort of car we enthusiasts thought – or hoped – Porsche would never build. But the new Cayenne Turbo Coupe is outstanding to drive.

Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo Coupe isn’t for everyone — even the colour will offend purists.

Lava orange was once exclusive to Porsche’s 911 GT3 RS, the marque’s most focused sports car and arguably the closest thing to a road-going race car in any showroom.

The track car is so extreme it saves weight with stickers in place of badges.

And here we find its pinkish paint enveloping the less practical version of Porsche’s family SUV.

Porsche is trying to make its Cayenne Turbo Coupe sporty.

Following in the wheeltracks of BMW’s X6, the Cayenne Coupe is pitched as a sportier, more stylish sibling to the wagon.

It’s less useful, as the rear row has just two seats (though you can have three at no cost), and reshaping the roof reduces boot capacity by 147L to 598L.

The Coupe is reasonably capable off-road but those 22-inch wheels aren’t likely to leave sealed bitumen with any regularity.

It’s doubtful many owners will employ its variable-height air suspension for anything more taxing than towing.

The Cayenne Turbo Coupe is a less practical, more focused version of its SUV.

Priced from $253,600 plus on-road costs, or about $275,000 drive-away, the Cayenne Turbo Coupe costs about $12,000 more than the regular model.

That’s before you consider options such as $3570 for active cruise control, $5000 for the premium paint or $9630 for Burmester sound.

Committed customers can spend $26,490 on the lightweight sport package featuring a carbon-fibre roof, 22-inch wheels, sports exhaust and more. It trims about 20kg from the car’s 2200kg mass, the equivalent of a tall glass of water to the weight of your average bloke.

Feats of athleticism can be improved with the aid of four-wheel steering ($4300), carbon ceramic brakes ($12,520) and torque vectoring rear differential ($3120).

A wide-screen display with wireless Apple CarPlay joins a clever digital dash in the Cayenne.

The standard car stops, goes and turns so well that it’s not necessary to spill expensive ink on the salesman’s checklist.

Powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with 440kW and 770Nm, the Cayenne drives both axles through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Use launch control and it will hit 100km/h from rest in 3.9 seconds.

Lose all inhibition and it will top out at 286km/h.

Put into context, this family bus is about as quick as proper sports coupes such as the BMW M4 or Porsche 911.

These wheels are an $8380 option on the regular Cayenne, but free for Turbo customers.

Somehow, the Cayenne Turbo’s surging straight-line pace is not surprising — it’s the result of power, traction and physics — but the way the car hooks into a bend is something else.

Elevating the Cayenne well beyond the likes of Benz or BMW SUVs are the immense stopping power of 10-piston brakes clamping 415mm silicon-carbide coated discs, the tenacity of enormous Pirellis (315mm wide on the rear) and the precision of its steering.

The Cayenne Turbo is remarkable to drive — it feels more like an overgrown hot hatch than a super SUV. There’s a dash of Subaru WRX in its throbbing soundtrack, all-wheel drive traction and surging acceleration, tempered only by adult sensibilities.

Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo Coupe looks impressive in the metal.

Big cars shouldn’t be able to scythe through bends the way it does, powering through corners with minimal body roll before dipping the nose to sniff out the next apex.

Is the Coupe much better than the wagon? Not that we can tell, not without driving them back-to-back in controlled circumstances.

What we can say is that it delivers on the Porsche promise of engineering excellence while riding with more poise than some luxury rivals and keeping road noise to an impressive minimum.

Lower and wider than the standard Cayenne, the Coupe is a cracker to drive.

The hi-tech cabin — with beautifully rendered screens, wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity and fabulous leather seats with 18-way adjustment — seals the deal.

The Cayenne Turbo Coupe is about as far removed as you can get from Porsche’s road racers yet it also shows how far the brand has come.

The Cayenne Coupe comes with a panoramic glass roof.

Verdict 3/5

Impressive in almost every environment, the Turbo has the best driving experience of any large SUV short of Lamborghini’s Urus — a far more expensive car that shares its engine and core underpinnings. But its compromised packaging and truly mean standard equipment list make it hard to argue it’s a great buy.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe vitals

Price: About $275,000 Drive-away

Warranty/service: 3 Years/unlimited Km, About $2000 For 3 Years

Safety: Not Rated, 10 Airbags, AEB, Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring, 360-degree Camera

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo, 404kw/770nm

Thirst 11.9l/100km

Spare: None; Inflation Kit

Boot: 598L

Originally published as Why Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo Coupe breaks the rules