Camouflaged Cayenne Electric sets SUV record and tows in style

Porsche has given a glimpse of the performance and practicality of its upcoming all-electric Cayenne, with a camouflaged prototype setting a new SUV record at Shelsley Walsh hill climb and demonstrating serious towing capability.

The near-production Cayenne Electric was driven up the historic English course by TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team simulator and development driver Gabriela Jílková as part of a film shoot. The 1,000-yard (914-metre) hill climb features gradients of up to 16.7 per cent and narrow sections just 3.5 metres wide.

On her first run, Jílková set a new record for a Sport Utility Vehicle, clocking 31.28 seconds — more than four seconds faster than the previous best time.

“The course is challenging and does not forgive mistakes,” Jílková says. “There are no run-off zones and little room for correction. But the active suspension gives the new Cayenne enormous stability and precision. I felt completely confident at all times.”

The prototype was fitted with Porsche’s new Active Ride suspension system, which keeps the body level during hard braking, cornering and acceleration.

“Porsche Active Ride significantly expands the range between driving dynamics and ride comfort in the new Cayenne,” says Porsche vice president of the Cayenne product line Michael Schätzle.

Another standout figure was the car’s 0–60ft (18.3m) time of just 1.94 seconds — a feat typically achieved only by single-seater race cars with slick tyres. Porsche says the Cayenne Electric achieved this on standard summer tyres, with production-spec power and hardware.

Porsche also showed off the electric SUV’s practical side. British TV presenter Richard Hammond used the prototype to tow a 100-year-old classic car weighing over two tonnes from his Hereford workshop to a garage, with a total trailer load close to three tonnes.

“We were trailing significant weight behind us, but you wouldn’t know it – the Cayenne handled it effortlessly,” Hammond says.

Porsche says the Cayenne Electric will match or exceed the utility of its combustion counterpart, with a targeted braked towing capacity of up to 3.5 tonnes depending on configuration.

“Our customers have always appreciated the high utility value of the Cayenne,” Schätzle says. “That’s why we didn’t want to make any compromises in the development of the all-electric model.”

While the electric Cayenne signals a new performance benchmark for the model line, Porsche says petrol and hybrid versions will remain in production well into the next decade.

“Our customers will also have powerful and efficient combustion engine and hybrid models at their disposal well into the next decade, and we are continuing to develop the current model generation at great expense,” Schätzle says. “However, we can only achieve the level of performance publicly demonstrated for the first time in England through the potential of electrification. The Cayenne Electric will set new standards – without compromising on everyday usability and practicality.”

The camouflaged prototype will appear publicly at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from July 10 to 13.