The hotter, yet still-unnamed variant of the Porsche Cayenne Coupe has set a new SUV lap record around the 12.94-mile configuration of the Nürburgring Nordschleife with a time of 7 minutes 38.925 seconds. This beats the Audi RS Q8's previous record of 7:42.253.
Despite not yet being on sale or even fully unveiled, a notary public certified this Cayenne Coupe as a series production vehicle. The official rankings from Nürburgring GmbH gave it the new record in the "'SUV, off-road vehicle, van, pick-up" category.
Gallery: Porsche Cayenne Nurburgring Lap Record
"This Cayenne model is a top performer. During its development, we focused on exceptional on-road performance. Our record-breaking Cayenne is based on the Cayenne Turbo Coupé, though more systematically designed for maximum longitudinal and lateral dynamics," said Vice President of Product Line Cayenne Stefan Weckbach.
To protect driver Lars Kern, this Cayenne Coupe had a racing seat and roll cage. It rides on 22-inch Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres that are specifically developed for this model and come as standard equipment.
Updates for the Cayenne are on the way:
Earlier rumours suggest that this Cayenne Coupe has a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 that makes 631 bhp (470.5 kilowatts). This is less than the 670 bhp (500 kW) from the Turbo S E-Hybrid, but the new model's suspension tweaks apparently make the new variant a more nimble vehicle than the more powerful one.
The reason that Porsche uses the Cayenne Coupe to create this variant is allegedly because of the swoopy body having a lower centre gravity. A rumour also indicates that the model features active aerodynamic elements. The photos show a spoiler on the roof, and there is the diffuser with centre-mounted exhausts like the optional part from the GTS.
Porsche says a full debut of this record-setting crossover happens soon.
Source: Porsche