The Cayenne and Stelvio are very different in many respects, beginning with engine displacement. Over at Alfa Romeo, the largest powerplant you can get in the Italian automaker's rear-biased crossover is a 2.9-liter six with a bit of Ferrari magic to it. As for the roomier and heavier Porsche, engine choices include a 4.0-liter V8 that Zuffenhausen's favorite son also uses in the Panamera liftback for 2024.
Coming courtesy of the good folks at KaRace, the video below pits the aging Stelvio against a pre-facelift Cayenne GTS Coupe. Although not the most powerful Cayenne of its era, this fellow does pack the Audi-Porsche V8 mentioned earlier. In this application, it produces a rather uninspiring 460 ps at 6,000 rpm and 620 Nm of torque from 1,800 to 4,500 rpm, meaning 454 horsepower and 457 pound-feet.
Pictured with Pirelli P Zero rubber, the German sport utility vehicle tips the scales at roughly 2,220 kilograms (4,894 pounds). Almost 18,000 euros more expensive than the black-painted Stelvio Quadrifoglio, the Cayenne GTS Coupe plays second fiddle to the Italian contender in a straight line. For starters, the Alfa Romeo is lighter at 1,905 kilograms (4,200 pounds). Equipped with performance-oriented P Zero tires, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio sweetens the deal with a declared 510 metric ponies and 600 Nm.
Otherwise put, 503 horsepower at 6,500 revolutions per minute and 442 pound-feet from 2,500 all the way to 4,800 revolutions per minute. Both rock the well-known 8HP torque-converter automatic from ZF, a gearbox introduced on the BMW 7 Series in 2008.
Obviously enough, Porsche could have squeezed out way more horses and pound-feet from its twin-turbocharged engine. Being a GTS Coupe, the German automaker couldn't give it a similar tune to the Turbo GT Coupe, a specification that's not even available in the EU due to emission regulations. The combustion-only Turbo GT Coupe belts out 631 horsepower and 627 pound-feet (850 Nm) of twist.
Photo: KaRace on YouTube
There's room for improvement, though. Lamborghini, for example, quotes 657 horsepower and similar torque for the Urus S and Urus Performante. Why? Because Lamborghini charges considerably more dollars for the Urus compared to Porsche's Cayenne Turbo GT Coupe. Don't you just love the Volkswagen Group doing Volkswagen Group things for the sole sake of brand hierarchy?
Be that as it may, the Cayenne is no slouch. KaRace's performance meter clocked 4.6 seconds to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in two out of two drag races. The quarter mile was dealt with in as little as 12.5 seconds, which is mighty impressive for an artificially restricted SUV that weighs this much.
Not as luxurious nor as techy as the Cayenne, the Stelvio rocks the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds. Zero to 62? Make that 3.8 seconds, thank you! Had it been the full-fat tune of the Turbo GT Coupe, the Cayenne would have asserted dominance over the Stelvio without breaking a sweat. Porsche claims 3.1 seconds to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) and 11.6, although certain peeps and motoring publications cracked into the 11.2s at the drag strip.
On that note, prepare to bid farewell to the Stelvio Quadrifoglio's Ferrari-infused V6 by 2027 because Alfa Romeo is going all electric. Porsche is also eyeing an all-electric future, with the Cayenne EV due to arrive in dealer showrooms in 2026. At press time, it's not known for certain when the combustion-engined Cayenne will be discontinued for good.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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