Calibre was in Portugal to try out the new Cayenne GTS, the latest variant of the Porsche four by four that has spent its life annoying the purists. Many enthusiasts, ourselves included, have questioned the world in which Porsche needs to make a truck. But the Stuttgart bosses had made their decision, and put on the market a model line that has now become the source of at least one third of all of Porsche’s sales. It is the model line that has funded the existence of such pure enthusiast machines as the Carrera GT and the Cayman, and has allowed the latest foray into the four door world with the upcoming Porsche Panamera. Besides all this, the GTS that slots in somewhere between the Cayenne S and the highvelocity Cayenne Turbo is actually arguably the most fun to drive. Porsche personnel kept saying “Remember who we are” when they talked to us about this model. They shouldn’t have bothered. The rush to two hundred on winding backroads was all we really needed.
The Cayenne GTS name and the preproduction comments from Porsche have confused many. The initials GTS call to mind the awesome barely-streetable GT, GT2 and GT3 models of the 911, and Porsche kept saying that this new model was the sportiest, most dynamic Cayenne yet. This led many to expect the GTS to be the ultra Cayenne, to land itself firmly above the current king that is the Turbo. Not exactly the case. The Turbo is still the top speed top horsepower king, and the GTS is not turbocharged as many expected. It does however make the strongest possible case for being truly the most dynamic if not the most Porsche-philic of the Cayenne models.
The GTS looks like the wild child, the Cayenne for the younger, more extreme set. It has the aggressive nose and tail elements of the Turbo, but sits purposefully lower to the ground. You might mistake this for a poser move, but it is not. The GTS carves corners with the best of them, and the best includes some pricey sports sedans. In some ways, this could be considered the no nonsense Cayenne, and Porsche has spec’d it out accordingly. For the first time outside the sports car line, you can get the much desired Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system with steel springs and not the somewhat pricey air dampers. This means that for the true enthusiast, you can start with a base model that already has the good stuff and add options accordingly.
Porsche has pretty much perfected the adding of the good stuff, and we first saw when we tested their new Boxster a few years ago. As Porsches moved from the garages and paddocks of enthusiasts and racers to the boulevards of the pampered posteriors of the less track-insane, some changes had to be made. Porsches needed to bleed speed at a mere look, and bragging rights for those who can’t really drive them that well were key. But many new buyers took one drive and felt abused, asking why they were paying so much for a ride that reminded them of a truck with a bad suspension. The fact that that suspension tuning has won pretty much every major and minor race in existence didn’t seem to matter to them. So many great sportscars were underappreciated for the amazing pieces they truly are because leaving the comfort zone was too high a price to pay.
So Porsche moves the comfort zone. Or rather, they widened it while making it look even better. Their air suspension system would come with a package that would pair the earth-grabbing and eye-catching brakes that scream “I’m serious!” with the ability to dial the comfort level as far to the soft end that Porsche would allow. You get the cred, but you enjoy the ride. One of the most brilliant moves we’ve seen to date. In some of the sportscars, you could even add a Sports Chronograph Package that puts a stopwatch/lap timer prominently in view, the choice of which of course signifies an even higher level of driving ability to those peeking in your windows or looking over in awe from the passenger seat.
The Cayenne GTS is in many ways going the other direction. It is a serious vehicle and closer to the classic enthusiast Porsche handling and feel than the other Cayenne models. It will rush to a hundred plus in a heartbeat, and will only give up velocity to the pricier Cayenne Turbo somewhere after two tons. Things will change on the twisties, where the GTS handling and tuning package will allow it to accelerate where the Turbo might need to slow and settle while waiting for the next good straight.
The PASM that comes standard on the GTS (with steel springs rather than the cushy air) allows the enthusiast access to a system that puts tenability at his fingertips. In basic standard mode, the engine is set for optimized fuel economy, no small thing given that the 4.8 liter V8 under the hood is a step up from the Cayenne S powerplant, and puts out 405 bhp and 500nm of torque. A push of the Sport Button switches from “miserly” (comparative of course, as this is still a Porsche) to “Move Me!” This makes each press on the accelerator pedal more meaningful, as both its control mapping and the engine response to it will be shifted to a more enthusiast-oriented mindset. The exhaust system will also make a physical change that will allow a bit more punch both in terms of performance and aural delight. The Sports Mode choice also acts on the PASM, which will begin to act accordingly.
All of these enthusiast toys are in reach because of Porsche’s choice to put them together in a less pricey package, as seen with the use of the steel springs. You can of course make your own choices, and set the Cayenne up the way you want form there. The air suspension is excellent, and allows more tenability and increases in either comfort or stiffness when you want them. Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, or PDCC, is also an option. This antiroll stability system basically makes the Cayenne as flat as possible in the curves, and does an amazing job of allowing you to keep momentum where many others would have you worrying about weight shift. The system gets to work even before the body starts to actually sway, acting as information comes its way from all the engine and suspension sensors. The feel in a fast curve isn’t correction, it is flat.
So what does all this mean, in real terms, for the Cayenne owner? It depends on what kind of owner you are. The new GTS, on stance and height alone, is purposeful and mean and also energetically youngish which may not exactly match the average age of the Porsche driver. It does however walk its walk, and will probably regularly annoy people who have chosen the Turbo on price tag supremacy alone. It is more sporty, and feels more aggressive, than the other model members. Porsche calls it the sportscar of the Cayenne range, and they have truly built it accordingly and with a good entry level ticket price to boot. It means that, more than has so far been the case, you may be buying a Cayenne for what Porsche really means.
Many enthusiasts live for the corners, and they believe that Porsche was born there. No one else attacks an apex with such a combination of attitude, ability and sheer glee. The Cayenne, at long last, seems to be getting it as well.