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Electric Cayenne a powerful porker
Richard Bosselman
November 21, 2025
Battery blitz is assured by a new model that really brings home the bacon for performance fans.
HEADLINE-making when measured against the stopwatch - likewise when measured on scales.
That’s the Cayenne Electric, which in addition to being the most powerful production car from Porsche, is in the most sizzling Turbo format also the heaviest vehicle Zuffenhausen has ever built.
When set into its optimal go-go mode, a launch control, it has an astounding 849kW and 1500 Newton-metres of torque.
That slingshots the flagship edition of the new SUV from 0-100kmh in just 2.5 seconds, while the race to 200kmh takes only 7.4 seconds - a whole second faster than the latest Porsche 911 Turbo S over the same stretch.
What makes this figure all the more eye-opening is that’s it’s very much a mass movement; as it there’s a lot of metal to shift.
You know how people joke about Porsche’s being ‘porkers’? In this case, really kinda true. At 2645 kilograms without a driver, the Turbo variant is also the heaviest vehicle Porsche has ever built.
The heaviest element is the battery, because it is so big. Porsche has release two versions of the electric Cayenne for now, and both run a massive 113kWh battery pack weighing roughly 600kg. For perspective, that’s nearly as heavy as an entire car: the Porsche 356 SL, a lightweight racer that won its class at the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This is there fourth generation of Cayenne but though the first to completely embrace electric, it doesn’t signal that the big lugger is now only availing that way.
Agreed, this 'E4' generation Cayenne will only get electric powertrains, But Porsche has realised that the transition to battery-powered vehicles isn't moving quite as quickly as it thought.
So a recent change in management and reconsideration of product planning means Porsche will continue to produce and sell its existing 'E3' Cayenne with petrol and plug-in hybrid powertrains as well. Internal combustion engines will live beyond 2030.
The E4 is almost the exact same size as the E3 generation, but is longer by 55mm and, more obviously, has a 128mm stretch in the wheelbase, to make room for the battery, though it also releases more interior space for passengers.
The styling is in line with the look already seen on the smaller Porsche Macan Electric, with compact headlights featuring a new take on the four points of light that make up Porsche's lighting signature, and decent aerodynamics, the make claiming an impressive 0.25 drag coefficient.
An electrically operated spoiler lifts at speed to increase downforce over the rear axle and, for the first time on a Cayenne, the door windows are a frameless design, but it continues to run on big rims, from 20 to 22 inches.
An additional air-cheating item for the Turbo is the design of the rear bumper. In addition to a more pronounced body-coloured aerodynamic diffuser, it has two active ‘aeroblades'.
These are vertical plastic panels that electrically slide outwards at speed, extending the rear and creating a sharper cut-off point for the airflow, thus reducing drag. Weird, but Porsche claims that they make enough of a difference to warrant inclusion.
The regular Cayenne Electric has a driving range of 642 kilometres (WLTP) - the Turbo has 623km - and a nominal peak power output of 304kW from its dual-motor setup. An overboost function ups the maximum output figure to 329kW. There’s 835Nm of torque.
The model can accelerate from 0-100kmh in 4.8 seconds and onto 200kmh in 18.4 seconds. If that isn’t stunning enough, then the Turbo has 639kW in standard guise, and beyond its kick off trick has a 'Push-to-Pass' function adding a further 131kW for up to 10 seconds at a time.
The speed of charging is also peaky. Porsche uses an 800-volt architecture with a peak DC-charge rate of 400kW, allowing it to add up to 323 kilometres of range in just 10 minutes. If only NZ had that infrastructure.
The Cayenne Electric has a charge port on both rear wings, opening electrically by sliding into the bodywork. The single DC connector is on the left side. The peak AC charge rate is 11kW as standard, with an optional 22kW upgrade available.
In some markets - and whether NZ is included is not clear - Porsche will also introduce a wireless charging option, which will use a flat pad that can be installed in a garage or even outdoors. Once you drive over it and park, the vehicle detects the charging pad and, when locked, the Cayenne will lower itself down on its adaptive air suspension to reduce the gap to the unit and automatically commence charging.
