2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe First Look Review: Putting The Sport In Sport Utility Vehicle
At the top of the pile in the Porsche Cayenne range sits the Turbo GT; with its sloping coupe roof, crushing acceleration, and eye-watering price tag, it may seem like something of an oddity. But in a world where SUVs can get off the line in around three seconds, the Cayenne Turbo GT has been touted as one of the best handling cars in the segment. Along with the rest of the range, the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Coupe has been substantially refreshed for the 2024 model year, bringing with it a new look, more power, and an interior we know from the Porsche Taycan, which is designed to optimize driver concentration. While the price is higher by a significant margin for 2024, this nets you more than just the 650-horsepower engine. Here's the low-down on the blistering Cayenne Turbo GT.
When Is The 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Coming Out?
Like the rest of the range, the release date for the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe GT will be in the summer of 2023. Order books are already open for buyers in the USA, however. At this stage, Porsche has not made mention of the less powerful Cayenne Turbo Coupe which was sold for 2023, but we do expect it to be announced imminently.
2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Price And Competition
Pricing for the latest Porsche Cayenne models is quite a bit higher across the range. The 2024 Cayenne Turbo GT starts at $196,300 before options, excluding a delivery fee of $1,650. That's $7,600 over the cost of the 2023 model. If the non-GT Turbo Coupe does return for 2024, it will likely be well over $40k less expensive.
While that's no small sticker price, the Lamborghini Urus it competes with has a starting MSRP between $230k and $240k in base S trim, which makes the price of the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT seem more palatable. For much less money - $70k less - you can get yourself a 2023 Audi RS Q8. It's also known for driving well, but this rival is significantly down on power at 'just' 592 hp (although it can still get to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds).
New Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Exterior And Colors
As before, the Turbo GT is only available in the coupe body style, but it does benefit from the aesthetic upgrade the Cayenne was afforded. This comprises a revised front end with fenders that are a little more muscular, a new hood, and updated headlights. These are high-definition LED Matrix design headlights, but it's not clear whether the blacked-out look will be standard for 2024 as it was in 2023. Items like a contoured roof in carbon fiber and an adaptive rear spoiler with extended lip have been standard in the past, and this isn't likely to change now.
At the rear end, the new Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Coupe looks sleeker than ever with three-dimensionally designed taillights and a new rear fascia. The license plate holder is integrated into the fascia, and the aggressive diffuser frames the two large, oval tailpipes from the titanium sport exhaust system, which identifies this model from afar. The automaker offers an optional Lightweight Sport Package that saves up to 72 pounds of weight for the Coupe range, but whether that will be a standard inclusion on the halo model remains to be seen.
Three new exterior colors are added to the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe palette for 2024, including Algarve Blue Metallic, Montego Blue, and Arctic Grey. The ferocious SUV rolls on 22-inch GT design wheels as standard, but there are numerous new designs to choose from, including the blue-tinged designs we see here. Either way, these will be wrapped in ultra-high-performance rubber.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Dimensions
At the time of writing, the official dimensions for the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT had only been shared for overseas models, but these should closely match the US-spec version. The SUV measures 194.2 inches in length, 86.4 inches in width including the mirrors, and 64.9 inches in height. The wheelbase is unchanged at 114 inches.
With this same logic, it's safe to assume the curb weight of the 2024 Cayenne Turbo GT will be somewhere in the 5,000-pound range, although we suspect it might weigh a little more since engine outputs have been upped, but performance figures are still more or less the same.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Engine And Performance
The engine powering the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT coupe is the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 found in the 2023 model but whereas the outgoing model has 631 horsepower and 626 lb-ft on tap, the 2024 Cayenne Turbo GT has slightly more impressive specs, with 19 hp more for a nice round 650 horses. This will be managed by the excellent eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission we love in the Cayenne application; the auto 'box effectively lays down the power to all four corners to enable a 3.1-second 0-60 mph sprint with the Sport Chrono Package helping to do the heavy lifting. This isn't any quicker than the 2023 model, but the new models may be a little heavier, despite the increase in outputs. The top speed is a heady 189 mph.
Standard on the Cayenne Turbo GT is Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, rear-axle steering, and a sport exhaust system. All of this combines to make the Cayenne Turbo GT the brilliant, engaging, fulfilling sports family-vehicle that it is.
Historically, the Turbo GT model has been rated for a lower tow rating than other models at just over 6,000 lbs (versus the 7,700 lbs on other models), so if you wanted to hitch something behind the SUV, you could.
Gas Mileage
Given the same engine does duty in this version of the Cayenne Turbo GT mpg figures should be relatively similar. The 2023 model achieves gas mileage figures of 14/19/16 mpg and has a 23.7-gallon gas tank. This enables a range of around 379 miles if driven carefully. This should be the case for the new model too, although potentially heavier curb weights and higher outputs may decrease it just a tad.
The non-GT Turbo Coupe was a bit more efficient for 2023 with figures of 15/20/17 mpg, but this model has not yet been confirmed for the 2024 model year.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Interior And Cargo
The interior of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT has been given a substantial lift, too, and while the upholstery and other materials used haven't been detailed, we know the cockpit setup is substantially improved. The biggest change comes in the form of the Porsche Driver Experience dash setup, which comprises a 12.6-inch curved digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch central infotainment display, and an optional 10.9-inch front-passenger display. The setup places all the most important controls on or near the steering wheel, with driver assists managed by a stalk to the left and just behind the tiller. The gear selector has been reloacted to the dashboard to enable a new center console design.
We're not sure what interior colors and seat coverings the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT will have, but judging on past models, it'll be the cream of the crop with leather and deviated stitching on power-adjustable sports seats and heating for all passengers. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT seats just four in 2+2 configuration, and features like dual-zone climate control, an air quality management system, active speed limit assist, traffic sign recognition, and cruise control will be factory fitted.
Cargo space inside the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT isn't likely to be affected by the upgrades for the new model year, so expect to have the same 19.4 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 51.7 cubes with those folded down. This is slightly less than what you get in the regular Cayenne without the sloping roofline, but taller rear passengers shouldn't be too negatively affected by the coupe styling due to clever packaging from Porsche.
