See all New Car Reviews
Pros: plentiful power, incredible agility, impressive quality
Cons: stiff suspension, no practical SUV shape, less refined than the more powerful Turbo S E-Hybrid.
The Turbo GT is the noisiest, most aggressive and most focused of Porsche’s flagship Cayenne models. Available solely in svelte Coupe form, it’s billed as a high-performance rival for the Lamborghini Urus, Aston Martin DBX707 and Audi RS Q8.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Design
In essence, the Turbo GT looks much like any other Cayenne Coupe. It has the same trademark Porsche nose, the same sloped rear window and the same sizeable proportions. However, this go-faster model betrays its power with huge 22-inch alloy wheels that are finished in gold as standard, although customers can specify more understated designs. The Turbo GT also gets lowered suspension and an integrated roof spoiler, as well as a sportier grille and matt black wheel arch extensions.
The result is, naturally, a car that looks more purposeful than its siblings, but it doesn’t look too heavily modified. It hasn’t lost any of its class in the move to ultra-high performance, and it’ll still look at home parked outside a posh hotel with the other luxury SUVs. In fact, it’s a little bit understated next to the Aston Martin DBX707, with its gaping mouth, and the angular Lamborghini Urus.
Some will complain that the Turbo GT is only available in the sportier Coupe shape, as opposed to the ‘standard’ Cayenne SUV form, but that suits its character as a performance model, and though the Turbo GT’s rear end looks more dramatic than that of a stock Cayenne, it isn’t an awful lot less practical.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Interior
The Cayenne Turbo GT’s cabin is slightly more focused than that of the standard Cayenne, but that doesn’t mean this is some stripped-out race car. You still get all the luxuries, including the massive touchscreen with Porsche’s latest-generation infotainment technology, as well as the part-analogue, part-digital instrument display and, of course, Porsche’s obsessive attitude to cabin quality.
No matter where you look or what you touch, the Turbo GT’s cabin feels incredibly sturdy, but it does look more motorsport-inspired than that of the standard Cayenne. The steering wheel, for example, has a little tag to show where the straight-ahead position is, while the car comes with motorsport-derived Race Tex microfibre trim as standard.
Despite the Cayenne Coupe’s rakish rear, the Turbo GT is still practical, and there’s no problem fitting four tall adults in the cabin. Rear headroom isn’t plentiful, but it’s acceptable, and legroom is more than sufficient. Meanwhile the boot measures an ample 549 litres in capacity when measured to the top of the rear seats. Fold those back seats down and you’re left with a cargo bay of more than 1,400 litres in volume.
Admittedly, that makes the Turbo GT less spacious than the standard Cayenne SUV models, but it’s competitive alongside its rivals and the shortfall in space is a small price to pay for the extra agility.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Performance & Drive
Under the bonnet is a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 petrol engine, which sends 640hp to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox. That means the Turbo GT can get from 0-100km/h in just 3.3 seconds before accelerating all the way to a heady 300km/h. That’s supercar performance from an SUV that weighs more than 2.2 tonnes.
Not that you will notice that weight from the driving seat. The Turbo GT feels astonishingly light on its feet, with fast, responsive steering and suspension that not only keeps body roll in check but allows the whole car to follow the wheels almost instantly. It makes the Turbo GT utterly astonishing in corners, with an agility that the Lamborghini Urus – brilliant as it is – can’t quite live up to.
The downside is, naturally, a reduction in ride comfort, and though the Turbo GT’s multi-stage suspension is supple for a car of this ilk, it’s nowhere near as smooth as the sublime Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, which has more power and almost as much performance, although it is marginally less agile. The hybrid is also significantly more economical than the Turbo GT, which burns through 14 litres of petrol every 100km on the official economy test.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Pricing
Irish buyers will have to spend a small fortune to get their hands on a Cayenne Turbo GT, with prices starting at €291,536. And that’s before options. Add a few choice extras to the standard specification, which includes all the usual goodies such as navigation and a reversing camera, and you can easily spend €325,000 or more.
Carzone Verdict: 4.5/5
Although performance SUV buyers can choose from a plethora of extraordinary cars, the Cayenne Turbo GT is one of the very best. Admittedly, the ‘standard’ Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid is more powerful, more comfortable and almost as good to drive, but the Turbo GT’s uncanny agility, raucous performance and excellent quality put it fractionally ahead of its rivals for those seeking maximum performance. And as a technical achievement, the Cayenne Turbo GT is little short of astonishing.