Welcome to another Auto Express track battle.
This one between the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and the blistering new Range Rover Sport SVR
where we'll be finding out which one is fastest around the challenging circuit of Croft in
North Yorkshire.
One of the key things that the Cayenne has at its disposal is a thumping great twin-turbo
4.8-litre V8 with 514 horsepower and a monumental amount of torque - quite a bit more than even
in the Range Rover.
It's also got an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox - that makes quite a difference on a track.
The Range Rover has an eight-speed gearbox as well but it's not dual-clutch so it's not
going to be just as snappy.
And it weighs a couple of hundred kilos less than the Range Rover so that's key.
Right, out of the last corner which is a hairpin.
The gearbox just picks ratio off like that, right we begin our timed lap now.
Flipping heck!
It feels so fast, into the first corner.
It feels as if you could really come unstuck very rapidly into there.
I've got everything switched off because it's definitely quickest.
Just the agility this thing has - for something that weighs 2.2 tonnes maybe with me in it,
it just mental how fast it is in a straight line.
And, how it responds when you kind of pile it into a corner and ask it to change direction
properly.
That's the really freaky bit when you're driving this thing.
It's quite nice when it slides, too.
It does that in a four-wheel drift which is great because you know where both ends are.
That's a pretty senior bit of track through there, I have to admit.
So is ti through here, madly fast.
This one\'s got the optional ceramic brakes so it really really stops beautifully.
You know just where the front end is so that you can stick the front tyres into the middle
of puddle like that, pile up to a corner like this and it just stops.
It shouldn't stop this fast, this car because of how much it weighs, but it does.
I mean, how could you not like this thing?
Let's see what the time ends up - short shift out of there because it feels like it's about
to light its tyres up.
That is the lap time to beat.
Blimey, one minute, forty-one seconds around Croft.
That's really fast.
The Cayenne Turbo really is the car to beat in this segment.
Question is, can the new Range Rover get anywhere near that time?
I'm not convinced, I mean it's a heck of a piece of kit, the new Range Rover.
They reckon it's a good 20% sharper, faster, nimbler than the existing Range Rover Sport
which is saying something actually.
When you do the maths and you look at the figures, I'm not sure the Range Rover can
do it.
It's got 542 horsepower so it's more powerful than the Porsche, but it weighs at least 2.4
tonnes with me in it, it doesn't have as much torque as the Porsche by about 50 lbs/ft,
it doesn't have as sharp a gearbox as the Porsche.
So I don't know, it's going to be really close.
Okay, so, up to the last corner to start the lap.
Good traction, good traction.
The gearbox works nicely, not just as well as the Porsche.
I think it's just as quick as the Porsche in a straight line, but goodness me, into
that corner there's more understeer than there was in the Porsche.
It just feels like there's more vehicle to try and maintain control of.
It's doing something quite weird through there.
It's kind of cork-screwing and then it's trying to kill me.
It doesn't like that at all.
That big oversteer moment there where the DSC just went "What are you doing?" and just
threw all of its toys out of the pram.
It does stop pretty well, though, for a big barge, and it does turn in well, so long as
you can stay off the mud.
Okay, through the S, it's just a lot of car to maintain control of.
It doesn't feel anywhere near as good as the Porsche through there.
I'm having to go across the grass there.
That was almost out of control.
it's feeling pretty exciting, I mean very quick, but it just hasn't got the grip, it
just doesn't have the ultimate composure of the Porsche.
When you really start to chuck it about, the front end doesn't feel anywhere near as nailed.
You've just got to wait, wait, wait.
Go on, gently, gently, gently, gently.
No, I don't think this is anywhere near as quick as the Porsche.
It's a whole heap of fun, I'll grant you that.
In the end the, the Range Rover SVR is fast, but not quite fast enough to deal with the
seismic event that is Porsche Cayenne Turbo.
Does that really mean anything out there in the real world?
Does it prevent eh Range Rover from being anything other than a great new car?
Not really, no.
On the other hand, you can't argue with the numbers.
And in this case, those numbers add up to one, very simple result.
The Porsche wins by two and a half seconds.
That's some margin.
The Cayenne Turbo is some car.
Click on the video windows to see what the Range Rover is like on the road, and to watch
our track battle between the Porsche Macan Turbo and a Porsche Cayman GTS.
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