Cayenne

When Porsche dared to do an SUV — and 911 fans were furious. In 2002, when Porsche announced it would build an SUV, the 911 faithful were horrified. To purists who believed Porsche should only build the 911, the Cayenne was heresy. It shared a platform with the Volkswagen Touareg, and was built in Bratislava, Slovakia. Yet what followed went in a direction no one predicted — the Cayenne saved Porsche. The SUV that saved the company. 22,000 units sold in the US in its 2003 launch year alone. The Cayenne took the title of best-selling single Porsche model away from the 911. Through to the 2008 financial crisis, it generated roughly 40 per cent of Porsche's revenue and effectively bankrolled R&D on the 911 and Boxster. The 957 facelift (2007) brought a 4.8-litre V8 twin-turbo; the Cayenne Turbo S, at 550 hp, opened the era of ‘V12-class torque in an SUV.’ A 911 in SUV form — the 958 and 9Y0. 2010, the second-generation 958. The first aluminium-and-steel mixed body cut 185 kg. The first PHEV (S E-Hybrid) and diesel lined up. In 2018 the third-generation 9Y0 brought PASM, rear-wheel steering, an 8-speed Tiptronic S and an interior soaked in 911 design language. The positioning became official — if a 911 owner buys an SUV, the answer is the Cayenne. Electrification — the fourth-generation E3. 2026, the fourth-generation Cayenne Electric (E3). A PPE-platform BEV with an 800V architecture, launched alongside the ICE 9Y0 facelift. The car that ‘should never have been built’ became, 24 years later, the car that ‘had to be electrified’. A single SUV opened two eras for Porsche — the luxury SUV era, and the EV era.