In today’s automotive landscape, you’re not a serious player without an SUV in your range, but back in 2002 things were less clearcut, making the Cayenne the most controversial Porsche to date.
Just how worried Stuttgart top brass were at the enforced dilution of their pure-bred sports car philosophy is obvious from the pre-launch advertising campaign. Using imagery of the Paris-Dakar winning Porsche 959, the advert announced “At this moment we are testing a five-seater version of this idea. The Cayenne is on its way.”
The phrase ‘a real Porsche’ also appears anxiously several times in the early press releases, Dr Ing HCF Porsche AG conveniently forgetting that the Cayenne owed more to the larger VW Group than even the Audiderived 924 of the 1970s. Like the 924, the VW Group ‘PL71’ platform was developed by Porsche at its Weissach R&D centre for use under Porsche, VW and Audi brands.
For despite the 911-esque lamps
