Porsche Unveils 2008 Cayenne at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show

Porsche is such an amazing company that manages to earn great profit out from their small line of expensive cars and aside from the fact that their sports cars continue to be among the top selling models in the market. Porsche’s first-generation Cayenne has been one the company’s successful models and that is even before the debut of the 2008 Cayenne at the Detroit Auto Show.

The 2008 Cayenne range contains little changes but is equipped with top-of-the-line Porsche parts which simply show that Stuttgart’s designers are more concerned with quality and not so much into dramatic restyling. The 2008 Cayenne has an overall shape that is aggressive and slightly refreshed but can be instantly recognized as a Porsche Cayenne. The visible changes are seen up front, where the headlights are given a sharper design while the air intakes are enlarged.

The $94k Cayenne Turbo model which is a top-of-the-line model gets the LED light cluster-bars from the 911 Turbo which according to Porsche will remain a distinctive design feature that will differentiate turbo models across the range. The said features are said to be much better, design-wise than the huge ducts and vents on the ongoing Cayenne Turbo which differentiates it from the base Cayenne and Cayenne S.

Facts on the Porsche Cayenne
The Porsche Cayenne is a mid-size luxury SUV manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002. It is also the first V8-engined vehicle produced by Porsche since 1995-- the same year when Porsche 928 was discontinued. The sales of the Cayenne as of June 2005 has reached 100,000 - considered to be the one of Porsche’s best selling vehicle in the North America and covered 40% of Cayenne’s total North American sales. However by 2006 the sales of Cayenne declined.

The design of the Cayenne was developed in partnership with Volkswagen which at the time was looking for a sports utility vehicle to add to their lineup. Volkswagen has shared its E chassis to boost their Touareg sports utility vehicle. The Cayenne shares only its base engine with the Touareg while Porsche’s version is substantially modified. At present there are four engines available in the Cayenne and these are as follows:
• 3.2 L 240 PS (237 hp/177 kW) VR6 from Volkswagen (Based on the unit offered in the VW but with modifications made to the intake, exhaust, timing systems and head)
• 4.5 L 340 PS (335 hp/250 kW) V8 (S)
• 4.5 L 450 hp (340 kW) 460 ft•lbf (624 N•m) twin-turbocharged V8 (Turbo)
• 4.5 L 500 hp (370 kW) 515 ft•lbf (698 N•m) T equipment twin-turbocharged V8
• 4.5 L 521 hp (389 kW) 531 ft•lbf (720 N•m) twin-turbocharged V8 (Turbo S)