Press Release
CAYENNE® PUTS THE SPORT IN SPORT UTILITY
Atlanta - The 911® is now. The 2003 Boxster® and Boxster S are new. And next: The Porsche® Cayenne, the third Porsche and the first true sport utility vehicle (SUV).
"Just as the 911 and Boxster brought a new dimension to sports cars, the Cayenne brings a new dynamic to the sport utility segment," says Frederick J. Schwab, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. "The Cayenne will provide a sporty driving experience regardless of the surface."
The Cayenne takes its name from the very hot red pepper that is recognized around the world as a symbol for zestful spiciness.
Cayenne's heart is its Porsche V8 engine
Production plans for the Cayenne were announced in the summer of 1998, when it also was announced that the Porsche SUV would have permanent four-wheel
drive and true off-road capability while maintaining Porsche standards for ride and handling.
While the Cayenne's engines were designed at Porsche's Research and Development Center in Weissach, Germany, and will be built in the Porsche factory at Zuffenhausen, the Porsche SUV will be assembled in a brand new factory located in historic Leipzig, Germany.
Taking the Porsche experience to a new level, the Cayenne is designed to create a perfect balance of performance and power, delivering an optimum blend of
supreme on-pavement and equally outstanding off-pavement driving qualities.
A 4.5-liter V8 engine rated at 340 horsepower (DIN) and 310 pound-feet of torque will power the Cayenne S. It will accelerate from a standing start to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.2 seconds on its way to a top test-track speed of 150 mph (242 km/h).
The Cayenne Turbo will be powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the 4.5-liter V8. The boosted engine will provide an incredible 450 horsepower(DIN) and 460 pound-feet of torque. The Cayenne Turbo will accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in only 5.6 seconds and can achieve a top test-track speed of 165 mph (266 km/h).
The Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo will feature a new six-speed Tiptronic® S automatic transmission as standard equipment.
Both Cayenne models will have permanent four-wheel drive, an inter-axle differential lock and additional low-range gears, the Porsche Stability Management(PSM) system, and the capability to tow 7,716 pounds (3,500 kilograms). Both will ride on wheels that range from 18 inches to 20 inches in diameter.
"Porsche has been at the forefront of all-wheel-drive design," says Schwab. "From the Lohner-Porsche in 1900 to the Porsche 959 in 1985, Porsche has been engineering four-wheel drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles for decades. The Cayenne is a natural for us, and it truly will put the sport in sport utility vehicles."
The Cayenne concept has been verified in three years of comprehensive testing in remote locations across the globe. Test vehicles were on the Porsche
development track at Weissach as early as the spring of 1998, and on-track tests were performed at Nardo and the Nürburgring. The vehicles and their
various components and systems were tested in the snow and ice in Sweden, on the sand and rock of Dubai, and in mud and water in Australia. Not only did the Cayenne have to satisfy Porsche's performance and quality standards, it also had to meet the utility and reliability expectations Porsche engineers demand from an SUV.
New technologies
For the Cayenne, Porsche engineers developed the Porsche Traction Management(PTM) permanent four-wheel drive system, a pneumatic suspension system with
a self-leveling feature and six adjustable ride height positions, and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), an electronically variable damping system that stabilizes body sway during sudden gas or brake pedal applications or when driving in rough terrain. These systems work together to ensure that the Cayenne offers equally outstanding on-pavement and off-pavement performance.
Porsche Traction Management (PTM), which is standard on both Cayenne models, feeds 62 percent of the engine power to the rear wheels and 38 percent to the
front wheels in the basic mode. A multiple-plate clutch operated by an electric motor and controlled electronically is able to vary the distribution of power according to specific driving conditions, whenever necessary feeding up to 100 percent of the engine torque either to the front or the rear wheels.
PTM, the newgeneration of four-wheel drive
The map-controlled longitudinal differential lock and the rear axle differential, available as an option, not only respond to any lack of traction on the front or rear wheels, but also incorporate sensors measuring vehicle speed, lateral acceleration, the steering angle, and gas pedal operation. PTM calculates the optimum locking action on both axles and spreads out drive forces as needed to the
f ront and rear wheels. Therefore, PTM might be compared with a forward - looking, anticipative active electronic control system providing exactly the right balance for superior driving stability and supreme safety when changing lanes both at high
speeds or when driving at a moderate pace on ice and snow.
Some of the particular benefits PTM provides are:
- excellent driving stability and traction in all situations, regardless of surface friction,
- better steering and control by opening the longitudinal differential lock in order to avoid any understeer,
- enhanced vehicle control when driving to the limit, due to the longitudinal differential lock,
- improved directional stability and tracking control by appropriate activation of the longitudinal differential lock, and
- improved traction by increasing the degree of locking action before the wheels start to spin.
Porsche Stability Management (PSM), also standard on Cayenne, maintains a constant dialogue with PTM but only intervenes when the vehicle reaches its
physical limit. Coordinating essential systems such as the anti-lock brake system(ABS), the automatic slip regulation (ASR), and the automatic brake differential(ABD), PSM is immediately available whenever the Cayenne enters critical over- or
understeer conditions, "telling" PTM to open the differential locks in order to re-stabilize the car by applying the brakes specifically on individual wheels.
