Porsche Cayenne V8 to continue beyond 2030

The current 2024 Porsche Cayenne – and its lusty 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 – will continue to be available alongside the upcoming, all-new battery-electric 2025 Porsche Cayenne well into next decade.

Announced overnight, the move is at odds with Porsche’s decision to go electric-only with its new-generation Macan and 718 Boxster and Cayman twins.

And it marks a softening of Porsche’s plan for EVs to account for 80 per cent of its sales by 2030 – the other 20 per cent previously expected to comprise only the 911 – which it now says it will achieve “depending on the demand of our customers and the development of electromobility in the regions of the world”.

“Our product strategy could enable us to deliver more than 80 per cent of our new cars fully electrified in 2030 – depending on the demand of our customers and the development of electromobility in the regions of the world,” said Porsche CEO Oliver Blume.

In a statement to Reuters earlier this week, Blume said the company’s EV transition was taking longer than expected.

“The transition to electric cars is taking longer than we thought five years ago. Our double strategy [of combustion and electric powertrains] is more important than ever,” he said.

The third-generation Porsche Cayenne received a significant overhaul last year and was expected, like the smaller Macan SUV, to be replaced by an all-electric successor – in this case the fourth-generation Cayenne EV in 2025.

In a press release confirming it has begun development of the first electric-only Cayenne ahead of its expected release next year, Porsche said the existing Cayenne “will be further developed with major technological investment in the future”.

It said the second major upgrade for the current Cayenne will focus on powertrains, “in particular on improving the efficiency of the V8 developed by Porsche and built at the Zuffenhausen engine plant.

“Extensive technical measures will ensure that the twin-turbo engine is ready to comply with future legislative requirements.”

Porsche now says the MkIII Cayenne will be offered with three powertrains globally “up to and beyond 2030”. Currently, they comprise a 2.9-litre petrol V6 in the base model, the 4.0-litre V8 for the Cayenne S and GTS, and electrified plug-in hybrid versions of both engines.

“The Cayenne has always defined the sports car in its segment. In the middle of the decade, the fourth generation will set standards in the segment as an electric SUV,” said Blume.

“At the same time, into the next decade our customers will still be able to choose from a wide range of powerful and efficient combustion and hybrid models.”

The “completely redeveloped and redesigned” Mk4 Cayenne, meantime, will be based on a “comprehensive further development” of the 800-volt Premium Platform Electric (PPE) platform that underpins the Macan EV – and both the upcoming Audi A6 and Q6 e-trons.

“The flexibility of the PPE architecture allows us to integrate the latest technology in the fields of high-voltage systems, powertrain and chassis. We are going to utilise the potential of electrification to take the Cayenne to a completely new level in a number of ways – for instance, in driving performance,” said Porsche AG board member for R&D, Michael Steiner.

Along with handling dynamics, Porsche said development targets for the new Cayenne EV include high-capacity and stable charging, high efficiency and a high level of comfort and everyday usability.

The first camouflaged prototypes of the all-electric Cayenne embarked on millions of miles of real-world testing outside the Weissach development centre, where “an extended phase of digital development and testing” was followed by physical proving ground testing.

“The real-world testing has begun and this is one of the most important milestones of the development process,” said Cayenne product line vice-president, Michael Schätzle.

“In this way, we ensure the durability and reliability of the hardware, the software and all the car’s functions in accordance with our high quality standards.”

No firm release timing has been announced for the first Cayenne EV, which will join the upgraded Taycan sedan (which arrives next month) and the upcoming MkII Macan (later this year) as dedicated EVs.

But Porsche has said the new Cayenne and the battery-electric 718 sports cars are due for launch “in the middle of the decade”.

Later this decade Porsche will add a new flagship electric SUV positioned above the Cayenne, codenamed K1 and based on the SSP Sport Platform.

Porsche has long said the 911 will be the last model to be electrified, but last month it released the first (plugless) hybrid version of its most iconic model, the 911 GTS T-Hybrid.

Porsche delivered a record 320,221 vehicles in 2023, thanks mostly to its petrol-powered Macan and Cayenne.