At Porsche, they usually add GTS-versions to their models after a certain amount of time. It's the perfect mix between the civilized S...
and brutal Turbo. They've done it now to the Cayenne. So what we have here is a car which has a similar power output as the S,
but when it comes to driving experience, it should be a lot sportier. To find out if that's true, we're driving the Cayenne Coupé GTS today.
That it's a more upmarket GTS, is made clear immediately by all kinds of sporty design features. The leather and alcantara have red stitching,
I've got a red seatbelt, the dials in the instrument cluster and chronometer are red, there are GTS-logo's everywhere, you name it.
You can't not see that it's a GTS. However, the most important thing in here is driving functionality.
Operating the car goes without too much effort. In the front, there's more than enough room. I'm driving the coupé right now,
and the headroom is a tad compromised, but the legroom is very good. Also, behind the rear seats there's an enormous boot.
It's an ideal car to take on a winter holiday.
Anyway, what's important in a sporty car like this is some sort of functionality, and that's the controls. It all starts with a very comfortable...
steering wheel with a very clear instrument cluster behind it. In that instrument cluster, the rev counter is the centre piece.
It's a real Porsche, after all. Next to that rev counter, you've got two displays which show you information. And it's all customizable.
However, the cherry on top is found on the steering wheel itself. The button which lets you choose the driving mode.
You can choose between Normal, Sport or Sport Plus. However, if you want to combine certain features, you can as well.
Anyway, this car is all about the technology. If we look at the horsepower, it produces 460 of them. That's twenty more than the regular S.
However, if we look at the other used technology, this car is much more similar to the Turbo. It has the exact same 4.0-litre V8 with two turbo's...
in the block angle. So it has the same hardware as the Turbo, but the Turbo produces an additional 90 horsepower.
That difference is purely electronic. The electronics manage the turbo pressure, which is 0.8 bar in this GTS.
And in the Turbo, that's 1.5 bar. However, the electronics also make sure this car produces a very nice amount of torque.
It produces power from 1.700 RPM and it keeps producing until you reach 4.500 RPM. It's almost like an electric motor.
There's always more than enough power to play with. Especially if you drive it in sportier driving modes. Sport Plus for example.
The throttle response is so incredibly sharp. Again, it's very similar to an electric motor. There's no delay whatsoever to spool up the turbo's.
Porsche has done a very good job indeed. And the great thing is, the engine is connected to a brutal exhaust system.
It's able to act civilized, but whenever you touch a button, a hellish concert starts playing. And it's a real treat.
And the best part is that it debutes on this car. Other Cayenne's will receive that exhaust system at a later date. Including the Turbo.
Anyway, a big engine and a great noise is one thing, but it'll only work if there's a gearbox which is able to process all of the violence.
And it's there. However, it's a conventional automatic gearbox. Not a PDK like in the Panamera. That's because this is an SUV.
In the terrain, it's easier to set off with a torque converter. Also, if you have to tow trailers or something, a torque converter and a...
conventional automatic gearbox just works better than a double-clutch automatic gearbox.
The automatic gearbox has very quick reactions, and depending on the driving mode, it's really harmonious with the V8.
I already mentioned the driving modes, because you can put it in Sport and Sport Plus. However, it's an SUV, so it has to be able to go off road.
And it can. It even has different driving modes for off road-driving. Sand, mud, you name it. You do need the appropriate tires,
but it should be able to do it. The GTS isn't the fastest Cayenne available,
because the gap with the S isn't that big. When it comes to driving dynamics however, there is a big gap with the S.
It's very close to the Turbo. And that's mostly because of the sports chassis. As standard, it comes with a sports chassis with regular springs...
and adaptive dampers, but now I'm driving a version with optional adaptive air suspension. Also, it has rear-wheel steering, which is very handy...
for tight bends and stability at higher speeds. It even has some kind of pseudo-torque vectoring, which uses with small braking moments...
which gives a certain wheel more torque whenever you're exiting a corner. It's great to see how Porsche has connected...
electronics and hardware to be such a whole. It almost functions as an extension of your senses.
You can make the car do exacty what you want it to. Sure, it has to throw around 2.200 kg all of the time, but it doesn't feel too heavy.
And that's a very good thing with such a high car. Despite it's not the Turbo, it's a very playful machine.
Having said that, it has a very sensitive steering. It feeds through enough information and it's a very communicative whole.
With an entry price of almost €185.000, it's not very cheap. However, it's €30.000 cheaper than the Turbo.
And for that money, you've got a very playful SUV in the GTS which makes you wish they'd close all of the fun roads for you as well.