Vehicles that might be called crossovers have likely been around since the 70’s and 80’s. But the true crossover boom didn’t begin until 1996 when Toyota introduced the RAV4 to the American market. Since then, crossovers have quickly taken over and sales of crossover’s have increased year after year, while the sale of cars has dwindled. Crossovers are vehicles that have many of the design features of classic SUV’s but are built on car platforms. True SUVs are body on frame design the same way trucks are.
Crossover’s have become so popular that even Lamborghini has created a crossover SUV. Porsche was the first sports car company to take the dive into the crossover arena when they introduced the Cayenne to the US market in 2003.
There’s also another fast-growing design market, the four-door coupe. Most recently Mercedes introduced us to the idea of a four Door coupe with the CLS in 2004. A four-door coupe is basically a sedan with a low-slung roof-line to give it a more aggressive rear profile. Other manufacturers followed and then BMW most recently introduced this design concept to a crossover with the 2009 X6. I must admit I am not a big fan of these four door crossover coupes. As fate might have it, for 2020 Porsche is using their Cayenne crossover as a way to enter the four door coupe crossover market with the 2020 Cayenne Coupe.
For me, the coupe name will always refer to a vehicle with 2 doors and a fixed roof. Cars like the Honda Accord Coupe or the Ford Mustang. But I have no choice but to concede to the market and now begin calling these trucks based on cars a coupe even though they have four door.
I’m sure the new Cayenne Coupe will be great to drive and may actually be my favorite looking vehicle in this class, along with the Audi Q8 with which it shares a platform.
According to Porsche the steep roof line, which is .78 inches lower, makes the Cayenne Coupe “appear even more dynamic” than the normal Cayenne. The rear doors and quarter panels are also meatier to make the Cayenne Coupe look broader. The license plate bracket is now on the bumper to give the appearance of a lower sitting vehicle. The slopping roof gets the addition of an adaptive roof spoiler that extends by 5.3 inches above speeds of 56 mph and increases rear down-force. The Cayenne Turbo was the first SUV with an adaptive roof spoiler and all Cayenne Coupes have a roof spoiler as well as the adaptive spoiler.
Standard equipment includes Porsche Active Suspension Management, the Sport Chrono Pack and 20-inch wheels. The roof of the Cayenne Coupe comes standard as a panoramic fixed glass roof with integrated sunshade. There is also the option for a carbon fiber roof, which is available when you select the lightweight sports package. That package also comes with lighter weight 22-inch wheels, houndstooth fabric seat centers, carbon fiber and Alcantara accents in the interior, a Sport Exhaust, and a number of other upgrades.
8-way sports seats come standard up front on the standard model and 18-way adaptive seats come standard on the Turbo model. The rear passengers sit over an inch lower than in the Cayenne to give them better headroom due to the sloping roof. The rear accommodates 2 passengers but you can opt for a 3 seat at no extra cost. Cargo space is 22 cubic feet and 54.3 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. The Turbo model loses a little space and comes in at 21.2 and 53.3 cubic feet.
All of that is fine and well but a Porsche isn’t a Porsche without plenty of thrust. The Cayenne Coupe comes standard with a 3.0-liter turbo V6 producing 335 hp and 332 lb-ft. This engine moves the Cayenne Coupe to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds or 5.6 seconds when equipped with the lightweight sports packages. Top speed is 150 mph. The Cayenne Turbo Coupe has a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 541 hp and 567 lb-ft of torque. The added power brings 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and the top speed is increased to 177 mph.
The Cayenne Coupe will launch in fall of 2019 with an MSRP of $75,300. The Turbo Coupe will have a starting price of $130,100.
