Porsche’s Cayenne Coupe Turbo will even make 911 owners nervous

Back in 2002, Porsche fans sputtered with rage as the Cayenne made its debut at the Paris Motor. More than 20 years later, Porsche now sells more SUVs than anything else in its lineup. Last year, the Macan and Cayenne accounted for 62 percent of all Porsche sales. Now, these SUVs are trolling traditionalists in a whole new way: They’ve gone electric, with a Cayenne Electric joining a smaller plug-in Macan. And the Cayenne Coupe Turbo is fast enough to have 911 owners looking over their shoulders.

Even Porsche’s hardcore fans, the kind who attend Lollapalooza-type festivals to worship a bygone age of air-cooled engines, have to give the Turbo Coupe Electric some credit. The new Cayenne has a legitimate claim as the most powerful Porsche of all time, boasting a loopy 1,139 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. Not a 911, or a seven-figure supercar like a 918 Spyder: instead, a suburb-loving, lacrosse-gear-hauling SUV.

This electric Cayenne treats the physical universe like a cosmic joke, accelerating faster than many supercars, and dispatching curves like, well, a Porsche. That includes a few effortless runs to its 261-kph peak — 162 mph for us Yanks — on unrestricted portions of the German Autobahn.

The Turbo Coupe settles into an effortless 110-mph pace, gliding on standard air springs, optional rear-axle steering, and the Active Ride suspension. That wizardly system pairs sensors, electric motors, and hydraulic dampers to counteract body motions. Each damper can generate up to 2,250 pounds of proactive force at individual wheels, independently of inputs from pavement bumps. In its Comfort mode, the active system allows the Cayenne to “helicopter,” seemingly hovering (a bit strangely) over the road surface with virtually no body tilt.

A stupid-fast description extends to charging. Electric Cayennes can peak charge at a sizzling 400 kilowatts, matching a Lucid Gravity SUV. They can maintain a broad enough charging curve to refill a 108 kilowatt-hour battery from 10-to-80 percent in less than 16 minutes.

This Cayenne wears a Cape

Porsche says the Coupe Turbo can blitz 60 mph in 2.4 seconds. I’d say it’s closer to 2.2 seconds, based on my cerebellum-squeezing starts in the Bavarian countryside, a time that shames several big-name supercars past and present. Defying a nearly 5,900-pound curb weight, the Coupe Turbo dashes from 0–124 mph (200 kph) in a ridiculous 7.4 seconds. It covers a quarter-mile in 9.9 seconds, nearly a full second quicker than a Ferrari 12Cilindri. That’s accompanied by a surprisingly charming synthesized sound that recalls a German V-8 by way of Trent Reznor. Drivers can dial down or shut off the ersatz engine roar when they prefer an EV whisper.

Turbo versions make 845 horsepower in normal operation, reserving the full 1,139 horses for automated launches. But an F1-style “push-to-pass” feature summons 173-horsepower shots of electric overboost whenever you press a steering-wheel button. Those nitrous-like bumps are limited to 10-second intervals, versus 20 seconds in a 911 GTS hybrid, to keep temperatures in check.

One squeeze of the slim, ergonomically ideal GT steering wheel is a reminder that this is still a Porsche. As with Porsche’s Taycan sedan, that steering feels brilliantly agile and natural, with a tactile connection to the road that goes missing in too many EVs.

Automakers often spin dubious connections between their racecars and street cars. Here, a muscular rear electric motor claims a direct, legitimate tech transfer from Porsche’s championship-winning Formula E team. The motor’s internal stator and live-electricity copper windings are bathed in a Mobil-designed oil that doesn’t conduct electricity, a huge cooling advantage versus external water jackets that typically surround a motor’s case. The ingenious design lets the Porsche regenerate braking electricity at a torrential 600-kilowatt pace, matching its Formula E cars, without overcooking internal components.

Porsche stubbornly refuses to include a one-pedal EV driving mode, preferring to coast like familiar ICE machines when you lift off throttle. Yet give the brake pedal a squeeze, and Porsche claims 97-percent of real-world stops will be handled entirely by the electric motors. Press the pedal deeper, and the Cayenne will finally engage its mega-powered physical brakes, including optional ceramic-composite units — and so seamlessly that I couldn’t spot the transition to friction braking on a bet.

Streamlined Style, Stamina

Versus a standard, square-backed Cayenne, these Coupes are known by their sloping rooflines, a “flyline” silhouette inspired by the 911. It’s a friskier, less family-oriented body style that 40 percent of American buyers chose in 2025, despite a modest penalty in cargo space.

Offered in either body style, these first-ever electric Cayennes leap ahead of Porsche’s internal-combustion versions, whose aging current generation traces to 2019. They’re built on a dedicated electric platform, sharing near-zero components with gasoline models. A nearly five-inch wheelbase stretch delivers welcome gains in rear legroom. A 3.2 cubic-foot frunk will fit a pair of backpacks, but no more.

A shapely snout integrates active front cooling flaps, with signature gym-pumped rear shoulders and an active rear spoiler. On the Turbo, a pair of motorized “aeroblades” emerge near the rear bumper. The Coupe’s fastback shape delivers a slippery 0.23 coefficient of drag, versus 0.25 for a standard model. So Coupes should squeeze out 10 or 11 miles more driving range.

Porsche says the Coupes, offered in three strengths, should range between 356 and 416 miles. Those estimates are based on generous global WLPT test procedures. Our EPA has yet to weigh in. But based on my drives and math, these Coupes should all top 340 miles in their sleep. Porsche’s superlative Taycan is already known to easily exceed EPA range figures.

New Porsche, New Customers

It’s ironic that the most powerful Porsche ever is designed to tempt newbies who may care more about the bells and whistles of a luxury EV than German performance. Porsche’s great leap forward in tech and infotainment may rank among its biggest selling points as it tries to attract first-time buyers.

The lavish cockpit centers on a vertical, 14.25-inch OLED “flow screen” that bends toward the console like a giant flip phone. (Drivers are welcomed with a large greeting animation that shows a Cayenne in the exact body color of their car that they can twirl around with their fingers. Cute.) A leather hand rest is a keystroke of genius, making it easy to control the screen while in motion. Blessedly, old-school analog switches manage regularly sought controls, such as a volume knob and temperature toggles.

An optional passenger screen blows away previous shotgun screens from Ferrari and others, with comprehensive functions and video streaming that’s digitally shielded from a driver’s view. There’s a lot going on here. But somehow it all works, from a Porsche that, decades ago, used to slap in an AM/FM Blaupunkt radio and call it a day. And unlike, say, Mercedes’ stadium-sized “Hyperscreen,” the system doesn’t suck up all the cabin’s design oxygen, or overwhelm its occupants.

One misstep is an AR heads-up display that takes up too much real estate in a driver’s view; floating navigation arrows become intrusive motes in your eye. Screen-based vent controls are another trend Porsche might have skipped, though they’re easier to operate than Rivian’s or Lucid’s vents.

Electric Power, at a Price

The Turbo Coupe starts from $170,350, and pinged $233,000 for my options-laden test model. A standard Coupe Electric will ask $116,150 when these Porsches arrive in late summer. The “starter” model offers a perfectly adequate 402 horsepower, 435 from a launch, and a 4.5-second run from 0–60 mph. The Cayenne S Electric I drove feels like the strudel-like sweet spot in the lineup, with 536 horsepower, 657 horses of max overboost, and a wicked 3.7-second sprint to 60 mph. That’s as quick as a BMW X6M Competition SUV with a 617-horsepower V-8.

That S model starts from $133,550. Stuffed with options, it reaches $201,150. Seems we were just getting used to Porsches being $100,000 cars, and now they’re $200,000 cars.

EV fans ready to splurge might consider Porsche’s wireless inductive charging system. At a lunch stop, I roll the Cayenne atop a magnetic ground pad that owners can install in a garage, or an outdoor driveway. A screen display guides me into docking position, by joining a pair of animated green circles, one representing the moving car, the other the pad below. The Cayenne begins to charge like a three-ton smartphone, absorbing 11 kilowatts of AC juice — no awkward cord or plug required. Don’t worry about stray cats or kids: The Porsche stops charging if it senses motion around the pad.

Inductive transfer is strong enough to charge the Cayenne’s hefty battery from 10 to 80 percent in less than nine hours. Skip a few superficial options in favor of this pioneering home system, and you may rarely touch a grubby plug again. In other charging news, these Cayennes are the first Porsches with an onboard Tesla-style NACS connector.

Warm Reception or Cold Shoulder?

Versus the old, SUVs-off-my-lawn debates, these electric Cayennes bear genuine issues on their broad shoulders: a tariff regime that heavily taxes these pricey European-built machines. A slowdown in EV adoption, and a Chinese market that currently prefers its own EVs. In an ironic upside, a war in Iran is providing an unforeseen opening for energy-efficient models, despite the Trump administration’s attempts to strangle EVs in their crib. And as with the controversial Ferrari Luce, the jury is still out on whether Porsche can convince enough people to switch to an electric performance car.

That’s a lot of baggage for these Porsches to haul when they arrive, fresh off the boat from a factory in Bratislava, Slovakia. One thing is certain: America’s Cayenne buyers will be casting a progressive vote, with fattened wallets, for the unstoppable progress of EVs.