Open the Porsche Cayenne configurator and the GTS version of the German
SUV may just seem a gap-filler slotted in between the naturally aspirated Cayenne S and the Turbo model. Nevertheless, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that Porsche markets the GTS as a more emotional proposition, not just the most powerful non-turbo member of the Cayenne range.
The Porsche Cayenne GTS uses the Cayenne S as a starting point and has learned all sorts of technical and visual tricks to increase the level of dopamine of the person sitting behind the steering wheel. The second generation of the Cayenne is now in its third model year, so the German carmaker, which has a fetish for special models and editions, has given its SUV the GTS treatment once again.
The Cayenne has now become a part of the Porsche DNA, so the company can anticipate what the customers want and what they dismiss. This is why, for example, the manual transmission is no longer available.
The sales data come to confirm that the Cayenne GTS is an important model - even though this is a niche proposal, which targets SUV buyers who favor pure driving pleasures to sheer grunt, the first generation of the GTS has accounted for 17 percent of the Cayenne sales while it was on offer.
When we drove the
Porsche Cayenne S, we had no difficulty in placing the SUV in the same sentence with “handling” so we were very eager to see what the GTS can do for its driver.
Porsche must’ve took inspiration from the extreme colors displayed by venomous creatures, promoting the Cayenne GTS with two special shades,
Carmine Red and
Peridot Metallic. We settled for the first and set out to see just how dangerous the new Cayenne GTS is. One can usually find plenty of venom in the desert, so this is where we took the SUV. Of course, we chose a long and winding road to get there.