Porsche pulled the sheets off of two fresh Stuttgart stallions at the Detroit Auto Show today, revealing a new Cayenne Turbo S alongside the 911 Targa 4 GTS.
As one ought to expect from the German marque, the pair certainly isn’t lacking in performance; the Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS produces 430 HP, or 30 more than the Targa 4S. As a result, 60 mph comes up in a claimed 4.1 seconds. The Cayenne Turbo S is even more impressive, pumping out a – frankly – staggering 570 HP from its 4.8 liter biturbo V8. The dash to 60 is actually 0.3 seconds quicker than in the 911 Targa 4 GTS, at 3.8 seconds – no small feat for a utility vehicle with a significantly higher curb weight, and far larger frontal area.
However, the most mind-bending feat of the new Cayenne Turbo S: it managed a sub-8 minute Nürburgring lap.
But despite the bar-upholding performance of today’s premiers, a lot of today’s conversation surrounding the Porsche unveilings actually had to do with fuel economy figures. If all the buzz about electrifying the marque’s entire sportscar lineup wasn’t indication enough, this serves as proof that emissions are a concern for the Porsche brand. The 911 Targa 4 GTS reportedly achieves identical economy to the less-powerful Targa 4S, at up to about 25 mpg, while the new Cayenne Turbo S actually improves upon the economy of its predecessor, at over 20 mpg.
Considering the push for improved fuel economy – not to mention the production of 3 plug-in hybrid models, the sale of two different SUVs, and the push to increase market share – one might speculate that the brand has gone soft. But Porsche CEO Matthias Müller insisted that the brand has not lost its exclusivity. He was very particular on that point. In fact, we stopped counting his use of the word “exclusivity” at around 3 or 4 times.
Of course, that only leads us to question the automaker’s steadfastness all the more; if Porsche didn’t have conflicted feelings about the direction the marque has taken, likely they wouldn’t levy preemptive defenses against questions that hadn’t yet been posed.
Maybe they spotted the ghost of Dr. Ferdinand in the crowd.
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