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Porsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter Testing

The Cayenne is the car that saved Porsche and allowed them to keep making the 911. However, the SUV has never been allowed to have a BMW X6-rivaling coupe version... until now.
Porsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter Testing 18 photos
Photo: SB-Medien
Porsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter TestingPorsche Cayenne Coupe Does BMW X6 Rival Impersonation During Winter Testing
A few months after launching the third generation, Porsche green-lit some major surgery. With a couple of ribs removed and some liposuction, the "Coupe" is a supermodel of sorts, though some might even argue it's an unnatural appearance.

Could this be the next big thing? We don't think so. The original Cayenne was a game changer because it was an SUV built to Porsche standards whereas this is a rival to many well-established competitors. Besides the obvious BMW and Mercedes units, there's also the Audi Q8 to consider which, by the way, rides on the same platform as this.

Much like the Audi, the Cayenne doesn't feature a completely raked roof, so rear headroom won't be terrible. Trunk space will be impacted, though not severely. But if it's not an original setup and doesn't have the practicality of the normal model, why is Porsche even making an SUV-Coupe? The answer is their favorite thing: money. Simply put, you can charge more for the sportier body style, plus it also increases sales a little bit.

Powertrain-wise, this prototype is the full-fat V8 experience, a Turbo. You can tell by the brakes and exhaust. However, another Cayenne Coupe was captured on camera about two weeks ago with a base 3.0-liter turbo setup. No diesels; they're too much of a headache. Instead, you should buy one of their hybrids, which are pretty good.

Porsche and Audi collaborated on a series of V6 and V8 engines, but said this will be their last ICE setups. Electricity is the way of the way of the future, and a Tesla-rivaling SUV is scheduled to arrive in 2022, though that won't replace the Cayenne.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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