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2003 Porsche Cayenne
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But view it head-on and you will see that Cayenne's face resembles Porsche's primary sports car, the 911 Carrera Coupe, only hiked up higher due to the 4WD suspension and huge tires that run optionally up to 20 inches.
There's the hood swooping down between corner flanks marked by uniquely shaped headlamp clusters and underscored by a narrow linear grille, stacked air ports and square-corner foglamps.
Fenders flare around the wheelwells like muscles bulging on an athlete's broad shoulders, while the flat roofline gives way near the tail with a sharp descent to taillamps to forge a silhouette that appears tilted forward in a suggestion of speed.
Porsche outfits Cayenne with new V8 engines that cap the sport-utility power chart. There are two versions.
The Cayenne S base model draws from a naturally-aspirated 90-degree V8 that displaces 4.5 liters and develops up to 340 hp at 6000 rpm plus 310 lb-ft of torque peaking between 2500-5500 rpm.
The ultimate model Cayenne Turbo uses this same plant fitted with twin turbo-chargers to maximize the power punch. It achieves 450 hp at 6000 rpm and torque numbers of 457 lb-ft between 2250-4750 rpm.
Both engines tie to a new six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission with manual shift action controlled through toggle switches set on the steering wheel.
Both also channel all of the engine's energy through a permanent 4WD system, the PTM device with inter-axle differential lock and low-range gearing for tackling serious off-road terrain.
Tire traction for Cayenne is further enhanced by the Porsche Stability Management (PSM) system that automatically corrects lateral skidding.
To rein so much horsepower in Cayenne, big brakes are aboard, plus an alphabet soup in computer controls.
Brakes consist of six-piston aluminum monoblock calipers with 13.78-inch inner-vented discs up front and four-piston monoblock calipers in back for 13-inch inner-vented discs.
Standard controls include an anti-lock brake system (ABS), plus automatic brake differential (ABD), anti-slip regulation (ASR) and the PSM device that coordinates with all other controls plus the PTM 4WD system.
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