PORSCHE CAYENNE ELECTRIC

Crucial all-new version of luxury SUV promises enormous performance, delectable handling, a long range and off-road capability all at once

-  GREG KABLE

There's no mistaking the importance of this car. What we're driving today on sun-baked Spanish roads, alongside Porsche's test and development team, is the next-generation Cayenne: purely electric, still in prototype form and pitched as a landmark in the German car maker's lineup. It aims to deliver the same impact as the original Cayenne did 22 years and three generations ago. But this time the reinvention comes without an internal combustion engine in sight.

The five-seat SUV, known internally as the E4, is based on the Volkswagen Group's 800V Premium Platform Electric, lengthened slightly from the similar structure used by the Porsche Macan Electric and its Audi sister model, the Q6 E-tron.

But unlike the Macan Electric, which in many global markets (but not the UK) has replaced its ICE predecessor outright, the new Cayenne Electric is being positioned alongside the existing third-generation ICE Cayenne for the foreseeable future – a clear signal that Porsche is hedging its bets in response to a slower than anticipated uptake and inconsistent sales of its EVs.

So, after much speculation surrounding its future, the ICE Cayenne, based on the group's long-serving MLB platform, is staying in production, with another facelift planned for next year. The new Cayenne Electric sits alongside it – or even somewhat above it in the overall Porsche model hierarchy.

Ahead of the planned unveiling in November, the prototypes I get to drive are wearing light disguise, but it's clear that the Cayenne Electric takes direct styling cues from the Macan Electric – especially at the front, with slim LED headlights, a closed-off grille, air curtains to manage airflow around the wheels and active ducts to regulate cooling for the electric motor and brakes. It’s clearly differentiated from the ICE Cayenne in appearance, taking on more modern touches, including frameless windows and flush-mounted handles.