Quick versus fast. Bentley->ke15 has long been claiming that its first-ever SUV->ke145, the 2016 Bentayga – will be the fastest (and most luxurious) SUV in the world when it debuts later this year, but now, according to Car & Driver, Porsche->ke1 is saying that its next-gen Cayenne->ke212 will be the quickest.
Porsche’s head of research and development, Wolfgang Hatz, was quoted by C&D as saying “our Cayenne is always very, very quick. It is doing 300 km/h . I think if is doing 2 to 3 km/h more, then why not? He’s doing that with a 12-cylinder. Our car will be much quicker on the road.” (It’s interesting to note that Hatz claims such a top speed for the Cayenne while Porsche’s spec sheet says the fastest Cayenne tops out at 176 mph).
The semantics of the statements made by both Bentley and now Porsche, which are likely very deliberate, suggest that Porsche is willing to let a W-12-powered Bentley claim the highest top speed of an SUV, while its next-generation Cayenne focuses on carving up the Nürburgring and other tracks around the world. In fact, Porsche just boasted at the Detroit Auto Show that the new 2016 Cayenne Turbo S set a new record for SUVs at the ‘Ring with a time of just 7:59.74 minutes.
For comparison, Bentley is reportedly designing the Bentayga to top the 200-mph mark – no small for feat for any SUV. Of course, the battle speed among SUVs at the Volkswagen Group should go beyond the next-gen Porsche Cayenne and the Bentley Bentayga as this topic doesn’t even begin to factor in the production version of the Lamborghini Urus->ke3276, which, if built, should be based on the same platform as the Porsche and Bentley, as well as the Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg->ke321.
Click past the jump to read more about the next Porsche Cayenne.
Why it matters
Sales figures prove that the Porsche Cayenne has been a success for Porsche, but the high-performance automaker still always has to defend its decision to get into the SUV market. The next-generation Cayenne could finally silence such doubters with claims that it will be the quickest SUV in the world. In true Porsche fashion, the 2016 Cayenne Turbo S is able to circle the famed Nürburgring in less than eight minutes, and with this being an ideal metric when it comes to quickness, the only thing that is standing in the way of the third-gen Cayenne is the current offering.