Remember when Porsche released the Cayenne? Remember all the people in their Porsche owners club shirts sitting around and telling you about how this new SUV was a disgrace to the Porsche logo and that all the company should design and produce are 911 variants?
While they might have had a point, the Cayenne sold like bottled water and like this water in plastic, it’s completely pointless. People don’t need this much power from something that will be used to haul around families. Yet, it became the automaker’s best selling model, despite its looks.
Now, to put the owners club folks in the mental home, Porsche is created a smaller SUV, the Cajun. No, it’s not intended for people in New Orleans, but it is intended for people who found the Cayenne to be a bit too large and fancied something a bit more crossover like.
Porsche officially confirmed the small SUV in an official statement detailing their hopes for the vehicle: "Under the working name "Cajun", this efficient and sporty model will further expand the world’s most successful Porsche segment in the SUV sector. In addition to the new Cayenne, which has clearly consolidated its market position as the most successful sporty SUV in the premium segment, the "Cajun" will also have a very positive impact with its typical Porsche features such as light weight, ease of handling and agility. As an attractive entry model in the Porsche world, the "Cajun" will attract new and even younger customers to the premium brand along with the Boxster, the market leader in the segment of two-seater, mid-size sports cars."
UPDATE 06/07/2011: Looks like the Cajun may be getting its power from a powerful diesel engine from sister brand, Audi. According to Autocar, Porsche is planning on dropping Audi’s 3.0-liter V6 diesel producing 309 bhp and 479 lb-ft of torque into the small SUV. This news comes along with plans to build the Cajun on Audi’s Q5 platform which will end up saving a lot of money and will help bring the two brands closer together.
UPDATE 07/15/2011: AutoCar has posted today a series of images of the upcoming Cajun, that according to the British magazine are the first leaked in-house computer renderings of the upcoming baby Cayenne. As you can see from these renderings, the exterior of the Cajun is likely to draw heavily on 911 design cues, while part of the interior elements will be shared with the next-generation Boxster.
UPDATE 01/05/2012: Porsche has officially confirmed that the new Cajun will be offered on the North American market starting 2013. Next to it, Porsche will also be offering the Cayenne diesel and the Panamera GTS.
More details on the Porsche Cajun after the jump.
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News on the future Porsche Cajun has quieted down as of late, but a few spy shots have catapulted the baby Cayenne back to the headlines. Our spy photographers have caught the Cajun doing a bit of winter testing somewhere in Northern Sweden.
The Porsche Cajun will be built on the same platform as the Audi Q5, which is why this mule looks identical to Audi’s SUV. However, somewhere under that wider track lies Porsche’s future baby crossover, packed with better brakes and wheels. The engine line-up will also be borrowed from the Q5, meaning both both petrol and diesel variants, fine-tuned to Porsche specifications for higher power figures. A hybrid powertrain may also be in the works and may combine a 2.0 TFSI engine that produces 210 HP with a 44 HP electric motor. This will help Porsche get closer to the average CO2 emissions goal of 130 g/km that all car manufacturers need to reach by 2015.
At the initial launch, the Porsche Cajun will be available with four doors, but a sportier two-door model will follow shortly thereafter.
The Cayenne’s long-awaited little brother, the Cajun, has finally been given the ’go-signal’ for production by Porsche, officially confirming what we’ve all known for quite some time.
The confirmation was made through a press release that announced the company’s new multi-million dollar investment towards its production facility in Liepzig, Germany. While that was the main onus of the release, news that the Cajun will be produced in the site beginning in late 2013 is what’s gotten the industry’s attention.
For all of the Cayenne’s popularity, there were still some people that thought that the Porsche SUV needed a smaller version, a crossover that would appeal to people who thought of the Cayenne as to big and bulky for their liking.
The Cajun will answer all of that, as it is being prepared to be an agile crossover that will challenge the likes of the BMW X3, the Mercedes GLK-Class, and the Range Rover Evoque in the crossover market.
Details behind the Cajun were not announced, but the popular consensus is that it will carry a wide range of powerplants that will include a 2.0-liter TFSI engine with 223 horsepower, a supercharged V6 that will carry an output north of 300 horsepower, a 2.0-liter TDI (diesel) engine that will see 200 horsepower, a 3.0-liter V6 TDI that will have 314 horsepower, and a hybrid TFSI engine with 211 horsepower to go with an electric motor that produces 44 horsepower.
For those that have long wished for a smaller version of the Cayenne, your prayers have been answered. Production for the Porsche Cajun will begin in 2013.
Now that the next generation Porsche 911 is up and ready - as illustrated in the first official images of the sports car - Porsche can focus more on the Cayenne’s baby brother: the Cajun. Caught by our spy photographers while cruising the Nurburgring, this Porsche Cajun mule doesn’t look much like the design of the real Cajun, but just the fact that it is testing at Porsche’s facility is proof enough that this is the real thing.
The Porsche Cajun will be sharing many of its components with the Audi Q5, including the platform and power sources, but Porsche will go the extra mile to tweak the chassis and engines to make it Porsche-ready. Audi’s full line of diesel and petrol units will be available , but the Cajun may also be offered with the Q5’s Hybrid drivetrain. This would mean a 2.0 TFSI delivering 210 horsepower which would then be combined with a 44 HP electric motor. This combination will help Porsche come closer to the average CO2 goal of 130 g/km that all car manufacturers need to reach starting in 2015.
The Porsche Cajun should be ready to go by 2013 as a four door model, but down the line, a sportier two-door may become available.
Doesn’t it seem as though the veteran sports car manufacturers are hanging up their speedy baseball caps and whipping out some family-oriented fedoras? What’s worse is that at the top of the list of manufacturers selling out on the game is our beloved Porsche. Their most recent family-mover catastrophe is the Porsche Panamera, but before that was their first take on the family vehicle: the Porsche Cayenne. Now the Cayenne is getting a little pint-sized brother called the Porsche Cajun, and it seems as if all hell is breaking loose on the go-fast front.
Should we be this upset with Porsche? After all, the Cajun is ready to roll with a 3.0-liter V-6 producing 290 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. There might even be a Cajun Turbo S with a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 in the works. This setup is rated at 350 hp. Each model will come with Porsche’s typical add-ons such as the Sport Chrono pack with launch control, excellent brakes with optional carbon-ceramic discs, wheels and tires, and a complete exhaust system including a switchable free-flow sport muffler.
Well, maybe we shouldn’t be all that upset. After all, people should be able to get their kids to school while also having their fun on the weekends. But if Porsche comes out with a pick-up truck called the Hot Tamale, we’re taking our business elsewhere. Until then, we’ll try to keep an open mind when it comes to the Cajun.
Check out our rendering of the 2013 Porsche Cajun, and let us know what you think of Porsche’s most recent ode to the family in the comments section below!
