The Porsche Cayenne is set to receive some mid-life upgrades, including a revised design and an upgraded interior towards the end of 2021 or in early 2022. The German manufacturer has released a set of official images of a prototype version of the ‘Coupe’ model undergoing testing, which should get similar upgrades to the standard SUV.
With the Cayenne being one of its best-selling cars, Porsche isn’t set to change things too drastically in the mid-life facelift. As these prototype images show, visual changes are minimal but a few minor tweaks help give the SUV a bit of a sportier look.
For instance, the front bumper is a bit more imposing than before thanks to a much larger front grille and sharper headlights.
The rear diffuser has also been given a bit of a tweak too, while earlier prototype spottings of the SUV look to have more rounded tailgates with the number plate mount moved to the bottom of the bumper – just like the swoopier Porsche Cayenne Coupe.
This Turbo version of the Cayenne Coupe has centre-mounted exhausts too, which could vary depending on trim.
Inside, the new Porsche Cayenne’s control layout should remain mostly as is, with a big touchscreen display on the dashboard and a cascading centre console layout. Expect redesigned elements to include a subtly tweaked steering wheel and, potentially, a smaller gear selector lever derived from the Porsche 911 sports car.
This should also mean the interior dimensions will remain pretty much identical to the current car, meaning the facelifted Cayenne will have plenty of space inside for passengers and lots of boot space. Do bear in mind that, because of the way the battery is packaged under the boot floor, the plug-in hybrids won’t have quite as much cargo capacity as the petrol-only models.
Porsche is likely to make small tweaks to the new Cayenne’s engine line-up, too. Bar some potential mild mechanical tweaks, all of the engines from the current car will be carried over – meaning you’ll be able to choose from a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 or a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
Both engines will also be paired up to an electric motor and a battery pack in their respective E-Hybrid plug-in hybrid versions. It looked as though Porsche would phase out the standard Turbo and only offer an upgrade Turbo S version of the Cayenne, though official prototype shots of the Turbo have put that theory to bed. A full-whack Turbo S could still come, though.
As its name implies, this will be a faster and more powerful model – whereas the current Porsche Cayenne Turbo has 550hp at its disposal, a theoretical Cayenne Turbo S would potentially produce around 630hp.
Regardless of what the engine under the bonnet is, all Porsche Cayennes will come with four-wheel drive, and only be available with an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The new Porsche Cayenne isn’t expected to be revealed in full until late 2021 and won’t reach showrooms until 2022. Entry-level cars will likely set you back from around £60,000, while the most expensive Turbo S E-Hybrid cars will still cost in the region of £130,000. Should a Turbo S model go on sale, you can expect it to cost around £5,000 less than the Turbo S E-Hybrid model.
Can’t wait for the new Cayenne to go on sale? Check out the latest Porsche leasing deals available through carwow or compare the best luxury SUVs currently on sale.
Sign up for the carwow newsletter by entering your email address below to receive regular updates featuring our latest videos, reviews, news stories and blog posts from across the world of cars. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.
By clicking the submit button you agree to our T&Cs and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy.