Hot on the heels of the rest of the Cayenne lineup, Porsche has unveiled the refreshed Cayenne GTS, a sportier version of the popular SUV stable.
According to Porsche, the letters GTS go back to the famous 904 Carrera GTS of 1963. In 2007, the Cayenne GTS became the first Porsche of the modern era to revive the acronym. Since then ‘GTS’ has stood at Porsche for especially sporty models. At the same time, the new entry-level model with the familiar 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine rounds-off the Cayenne portfolio at the lower end of the range.
The Cayenne GTS is powered by a 3.6-litre V6 bi-turbo engine that churns out 440hp and 600Nm of torque. This enables the Cayenne GTS to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds, or just 5.1 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono package whilst reaching a top speed of 262 km/h. Apart from that, the Cayenne GTS has sports exhaust system as standard feature, which provides the familiarly meaty GTS sound.
More on the Cayenne GTS…
Thanks not least to its suspension, the Cayenne GTS captivates drivers with its unmistakable lateral dynamics. The Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) damping system has a sporty set-up. With the standard steel-spring suspension the vehicle sits 24 mm lower, while with the optional air suspension it’s 20mm. Further standard features include the brakes from the Cayenne Turbo with 390mm discs on the front axle (358mm at the back), inclusive of brake callipers painted red in typical turbo fashion.
Other design attributes that turn the Cayenne GTS externally into a sporty vehicle are turbo nose section with large air intakes and the Sport Design package, including more contoured side sills and wheel arch extensions. The latter, like the roof spoiler and lower rear of the vehicle, are painted in the car body colour. The colour black provides some striking contrasts: all lettering is black, as are the 20-inch wheels in the RS Spyder de-sign, the exhaust tailpipes, the bi-xenon headlights’ inner apertures and the fittings of the darkened LED rear lights. There’s a new feature on the front doors: striking GTS lettering.
The sporting character continues on the inside. 8-way electrically adjustable GTS sports seats in Alcantara upholstery, including GTS lettering on the headrests, are fitted as standard. Alcantara is the predominant upholstery material used inside the car. The interior GTS package is optionally available in carmine red or rhodium silver with rev counter face, decorative stitching, headrest lettering and safety belts in contrasting colour.
The base model Cayenne on the other hand, is powered by the familiar 3.6-litre V6 naturally aspirated engine, delivering 300 hp. It accelerates the Cayenne from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds – 7.6 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono package, whilst reaching a top speed of 230 km/h. The Cayenne models also benefits from the general efficiency measures, such as coasting, Auto Stop/Start function and thermal management. As a result, fuel consumption drops in comparison to the previous model by 0.7 l/100 km to 9.2 l/100 km. That equates to CO2 emissions of 215 g/km, thus 21 g/km lower than before.
Compared to the previous model, the new Cayenne also offers more comprehensive standard features such as bi-xenon main headlights with four-point LED daytime driving lights, the multi-function sports steering wheel with paddle switches and the automatic boot lid.
Both models will go on sale in Malaysia in second quarter of 2015 with pricing set to be announced closer to its launch date.
