Porsche Cayenne facelift spied
Porsche is set to give its popular Cayenne SUV a mild refresh that will include revised styling and new powertrain options.
Drive’s spy photographers have caught a thinly-masked prototype undergoing final testing in Europe, indicating a facelifted model will be officially revealed soon.
The engineering vehicle was wearing stickers over its head and taillights to disguise their new look, but did not hide its new-look front bumper which borrows styling cues from the recently-released Macan SUV with a wider grille, smaller side intakes with air fences and revised LED daytime running lights.
The Cayenne’s interior is also expected to feature some minor styling updates as well as additional features, but the biggest changes will likely be reserved for what’s under the bonnet.
Porsche is expected to drop the Macan Turbo’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 into the lineup, potentially as a replacement for the naturally-aspirated 4.8-litre V8 that produces an identical amount of power in the mid-spec Cayenne S.
It is also likely to build its petrol-electric range of vehicles with a dedicated plug-in hybrid variant that borrows the powertrain from the Panamera S E-Hybrid. While the mechanical elements are similar to those in the existing Cayenne Hybrid – with a 245kW 3.0-litre V6 hooked up to 70kW electric motor – the plug-in version can be re-charged on mains power and drive on electric power alone for up to 36km, providing it with a claimed average fuel consumption of under 4.0L/100km.
A recent report by British publication, Car, suggests a new entry-level Cayenne will be powered by a four cylinder turbocharged engine, but this is likely to be adopted in the next-generation SUV that's due in 2016.
Until then, Porsche is expected to maintain the rest of the existing Cayenne range, which currently starts at $100,2000 plus on-road costs for the base Cayenne and tops out at $259,600 plus on-road costs for the epic 405kW Turbo S.