Porsche boss re-confirms ‘ultra’ Cayenne coupe
BY PETER BARNWELL
THE arrival of the Cayenne SUV saved Porsche’s bacon back in the day, and ever since, has been one of its most popular models. No surprise really that the Stuttgart-based specialist sports vehicle maker is placing huge importance on a new ‘uber’ Cayenne.
Code named K1, the top-of-the-range SUV was recently re-confirmed by Porsche boss and Volkswagen Group CEO, Oliver Bulme, at the company’s Annual General meeting press conference in Germany.
Knowledge of its existence was disclosed in the middle of 2022, as a totally new, electric-only, all-wheel drive, coupe-SUV, based on the Porsche Cayenne but sitting above that model in the company’s portfolio.
However, the wait will be long with Porsche suggesting the end of the decade before the seven-seat ‘K1’ becomes available. Other talk suggests the wait might not be as long as that, nominating 2027 as a possible production date.
Our money is on the earlier date based on the arrival of a new generation Cayenne around that time or before. The new, fourth generation Cayenne follows a comprehensive revamp of the current third generation SUV starting soon.
The gen’ three Cayenne upgrade will include up to three plug-in hybrid variants, all with extended range capabilities. Gauged from usual automotive model life schedules, the revamp will run for at least another three to four years ... firming 2027 for the K1 at this point.
It has been in planning and design stages for three years already and will follow gen’ four Cayenne onto the market. Porsche says the “K1 will have an even wider breadth of abilities, balancing the on-road performance for which Porsche is famous, long-distance comfort and off-road capability”.
The sports car specialist has an ambitious electrification strategy with a focus on the all-electric Cayenne and K1, especially given the all-electric Macan has “reached the home straight” and will be available to customers next year.
When it arrives in a few years, the electric only gen’ four Cayenne (and K1) will serve to underline Porsche’s goal of delivering more than 80 per cent of its new vehicles as all-electric models by 2030.
It wasn’t only Oliver Bulme confirming K1 as a number of other speakers at the Porsche AGM press conference also alluded to its existence saying the flagship SUV will underpin Porsche’s upwards expanded portfolio, targeting buyers in China and the US.
The vehicle is designed to take on the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and BMW iX and will be based on Porsche’s SSP Sport platform developed in-house. An early concept version is rumoured to have already been ‘cliniced’ at a US Porsche dealer meeting late last year.
The K1 will likely be powered by newly developed, oil cooled, synchronous electric motors with a high-performance 100kWh battery and rapid-charging 920V technology that are certain to price it above the current top of the line Cayenne 4.0 Turbo S E-Hybrid coupe at $311,100 plus on-road costs.
Enhancing the K1’s dynamic capabilities will be four-wheel steering and a wheel-specific torque vectoring system along with other technology.
Though the lid is firmly on possible design, the K1 is tipped to usher in new Porsche styling DNA with a unique silhouette, a short bonnet, steeply raked windscreen and an arcing roofline melding into a fastback tail.
It will likely have an off-road capable ride height selectable through multiple drive modes and terrain settings similar to those used by Range Rover and others. Air suspension is a given to facilitate said variable ride height and thereby ground clearance.
“This new vehicle concept is designed to offer strong performance and automated driving functions with the typical Porsche flyline, along with a completely new experience inside the vehicle,” said Mr Bulme.
He described the car as a very sporting interpretation of an SUV that will take the form of a raised coupé and was optimistic about the company’s prospects particularly after such a strong 2022.
“In difficult conditions, we achieved the strongest result in the history of Porsche, by some distance and were also able to offer our customers exciting new products yet again in 2022,” he said.
“We are expanding our product portfolio with new sports car concepts and will continue to focus on limited editions and expand our Sonderwunsch (special desires) program in the future.
“We want to accommodate the desires and lifestyle of our customers even more than we do already, exceeding their expectations time and again and are thereby underlining and strengthening our ‘sporty luxury’ positioning particularly in China and the US.”
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