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Porsche in the 1990s found itself in economic crisis as global tastes in vehicles began a transition to trucks that goes on to this day. Porsche was in the red and delivered only 23,060 cars during the 1991/92 financial year. With the Boxster, launched in 1996, Porsche began to slowly drive itself away from its crash. However, the legendary 911 and the new mid-engine model alone would not secure its future. Plans for a ‘third Porsche’ began to take shape, albeit initially without a firm decision on the segment.
Ferry Porsche predicted in 1989: “If we build an off-road model according to our standards of quality, and it has a Porsche crest on the front, people will buy it.” He would eventually be right. Since 2002, the Cayenne has been one of the mainstays of the car manufacturer’s global success.
“The Cayenne has always been a major draw for our brand – it has brought many new customers and fans from all over the world to Porsche over the past 20 years,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG.
On the recommendation of the oft-ignored US sales organization, the company decided on an off-road vehicle instead of the people-carrier/MPV also under consideration. An SUV was right for North America – Porsche’s largest market at the time even though sports car traditionalists spurned the move. CEO Wendelin Wiedeking had also set his sights on the emerging Asian market.
This expensive undertaking was ultimately part of a joint project with Volkswagen, dubbed ‘Colorado,’ officially announced in June 1998. The Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg would share the same platform. Despite the identical architecture, each manufacturer initially used their own engines and developed their own chassis set-ups. Porsche was responsible for developing the joint platform at its initially top-secret Hemmingen site, while Volkswagen contributed its production expertise for large volumes.
In 1999, Zuffenhausen decided to build the car in its home market rather than abroad, and constructed a new production facility in Leipzig, which was officially opened in August 2002. Its Volkswagen counterpart, the Touareg, was produced at the Volkswagen plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. The painted bodywork for the Cayenne was also sourced from there, with final assembly taking place in Saxony.
Both the first and second model generations of the Cayenne – known internally as E1 and E2 – rolled off the production line in Leipzig and later also in Osnabrück. With the launch of the third generation (E3) in 2017, Porsche moved all Cayenne production to Bratislava to create additional capacity in Leipzig for the Panamera sports sedan and Macan compact SUV.
The Cayenne has influenced the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment during the past two decades. The first generation (E1) started with a choice of two V8 engines. In the Cayenne S, the newly developed 4.5-litre engine generated 250 kW (340 PS), The Cayenne Turbo was faster with 331 kW (450 PS) from the same displacement. They reached top speeds of 242 and 266 km/h respectively – an important message to regular sports car customers and professional athletes who didn’t fit in a 911.
Dynamics were controlled by newly introduced electronic systems: Porsche Traction Management (PTM) distributed drive power between the rear and front axles in a ratio of 62:38 as standard. The drive system was also variable by way of a multi-plate clutch and could implement any power ratio between the front and rear wheels between 100:0 and 0:100 if required. On dirt roads, Cayenne drivers could also use a low-range transfer box to improve traction. A fully locking center-differential prevented the wheels from spinning even if they briefly lifted off the ground. Porsche’s first off-road vehicle could run with well-known off-road brands.
Generation one Cayenne (E1) was also the first Porsche to feature the newly developed PASM. Porsche Active Suspension Management was offered together with air suspension. It continuously regulates the damping force and incorporates the condition of the road and the Cayenne driver’s driving style into its calculations. Its air suspension also helped the Cayenne off-road: ground clearance of 21.7 centimeters with conventional suspension went up to 27.3 centimeters with the help of the level control system within the air suspension. Porsche optimized its on-road performance at the beginning of 2006 with the introduction of the first Cayenne Turbo S, which attracted attention with its engine output of 383 kW (521 PS) from its 4.5-litre V8 biturbo engine, which was remarkable by the standards of the time.
“Establish, sharpen, refine” is Porsche head of design Michael Mauer’s description of the evolution of the design from the original Cayenne to the third-generation model of the present day.
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Milestones – 20 years of Porsche Cayenne SUVs
Click to Enlarge.
Porsche in the 1990s found itself in economic crisis as global tastes in vehicles began a transition to trucks that goes on to this day. Porsche was in the red and delivered only 23,060 cars during the 1991/92 financial year. With the Boxster, launched in 1996, Porsche began to slowly drive itself away from its crash. However, the legendary 911 and the new mid-engine model alone would not secure its future. Plans for a ‘third Porsche’ began to take shape, albeit initially without a firm decision on the segment.
Ferry Porsche predicted in 1989: “If we build an off-road model according to our standards of quality, and it has a Porsche crest on the front, people will buy it.” He would eventually be right. Since 2002, the Cayenne has been one of the mainstays of the car manufacturer’s global success.
“The Cayenne has always been a major draw for our brand – it has brought many new customers and fans from all over the world to Porsche over the past 20 years,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG.
On the recommendation of the oft-ignored US sales organization, the company decided on an off-road vehicle instead of the people-carrier/MPV also under consideration. An SUV was right for North America – Porsche’s largest market at the time even though sports car traditionalists spurned the move. CEO Wendelin Wiedeking had also set his sights on the emerging Asian market.
This expensive undertaking was ultimately part of a joint project with Volkswagen, dubbed ‘Colorado,’ officially announced in June 1998. The Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg would share the same platform. Despite the identical architecture, each manufacturer initially used their own engines and developed their own chassis set-ups. Porsche was responsible for developing the joint platform at its initially top-secret Hemmingen site, while Volkswagen contributed its production expertise for large volumes.
In 1999, Zuffenhausen decided to build the car in its home market rather than abroad, and constructed a new production facility in Leipzig, which was officially opened in August 2002. Its Volkswagen counterpart, the Touareg, was produced at the Volkswagen plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. The painted bodywork for the Cayenne was also sourced from there, with final assembly taking place in Saxony.
Both the first and second model generations of the Cayenne – known internally as E1 and E2 – rolled off the production line in Leipzig and later also in Osnabrück. With the launch of the third generation (E3) in 2017, Porsche moved all Cayenne production to Bratislava to create additional capacity in Leipzig for the Panamera sports sedan and Macan compact SUV.
The Cayenne has influenced the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment during the past two decades. The first generation (E1) started with a choice of two V8 engines. In the Cayenne S, the newly developed 4.5-litre engine generated 250 kW (340 PS), The Cayenne Turbo was faster with 331 kW (450 PS) from the same displacement. They reached top speeds of 242 and 266 km/h respectively – an important message to regular sports car customers and professional athletes who didn’t fit in a 911.
Dynamics were controlled by newly introduced electronic systems: Porsche Traction Management (PTM) distributed drive power between the rear and front axles in a ratio of 62:38 as standard. The drive system was also variable by way of a multi-plate clutch and could implement any power ratio between the front and rear wheels between 100:0 and 0:100 if required. On dirt roads, Cayenne drivers could also use a low-range transfer box to improve traction. A fully locking center-differential prevented the wheels from spinning even if they briefly lifted off the ground. Porsche’s first off-road vehicle could run with well-known off-road brands.
Generation one Cayenne (E1) was also the first Porsche to feature the newly developed PASM. Porsche Active Suspension Management was offered together with air suspension. It continuously regulates the damping force and incorporates the condition of the road and the Cayenne driver’s driving style into its calculations. Its air suspension also helped the Cayenne off-road: ground clearance of 21.7 centimeters with conventional suspension went up to 27.3 centimeters with the help of the level control system within the air suspension. Porsche optimized its on-road performance at the beginning of 2006 with the introduction of the first Cayenne Turbo S, which attracted attention with its engine output of 383 kW (521 PS) from its 4.5-litre V8 biturbo engine, which was remarkable by the standards of the time.
“Establish, sharpen, refine” is Porsche head of design Michael Mauer’s description of the evolution of the design from the original Cayenne to the third-generation model of the present day.
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