Porsche to unveil its new Cayenne at Geneva

Porsche has released details of its second-generation Cayenne SUV. This moved was expected as Volkswagen has already announced a new version of its Touareg, a sister model of the Cayenne. As in the case of the Touareg, the emphasis is on weight reduction, and improved performance and economy.

Engine options include a 3.0 litre V6 diesel, a 3.6 litre V6 petrol, and a 4.8 litre V8 petrol available in standard and turbocharged forms. Of greatest interest, however, is a new hybrid model, the Cayenne S Hybrid. This has a 333 horsepower supercharged 3.0 litre V6 petrol engine and a 47 horsepower electric motor, which means that up to 380 horsepower can be mobilised for strong performance from low speeds.

Porsche says that this provides performance similar to that delivered by the standard 4.8 litre V8 model, but combined with much better fuel consumption and far lower CO2 emissions; in fact, in official tests, the Cayenne S Hybrid emits 193g/km of CO2, a lower figure than any other Porsche model.

The new Porsche Cayenne goes on sale in the UK in late May.