My automotive intuition is telling me that if Porsche does do a GTS version of the new Cayenne it will not be the Messiah that the 1st gen. GTS was IMHO.

Why, because the 1st Gen. car missed the mark. Something Porsche will now openly admit. They designed the car with too much off road capability at the expense of weight and other performance sapping drawbacks. So, they brought out the GTS with lowered ride height, stiffer springs, tweaking of the driveline to get the throttle to feel more responsive and a sport exhaust. Then charge a very modest premium for this and voila!

The GTS somewhat bothers me in that it is the SUV that Porsche should have introduced from the very beginning. Name one feature on the GTS that is inappropriate, undesirable, or too extreme? Right. There isn't one. Even the most clueless or subdued driver would agree that every change was for the better. And it's improvements are not the results of add ons, but rather reworking the same grade of ingredients as an S in a manner more appropriate for the brand. The power increase is essentially insignificant (20 hp in a 5300lb. SUV is like adding 8 hp to a 911). It hits 60 a mere 1/2 quicker than an S or an X5 4.8. But the glorious sound coming out of the pipes makes it seem faster and the handling is what really makes the whole car.

So fast forward to July, 2010. The new Cayenne has already been designed in the GTS frame of mind. Its much lighter and much lower to the ground than a previous non GTS Gen. 1 Cayenne. All the new gadgets are avail. across the line: torque vectoring rear diff and hydraulic anti roll (ala BMW). So in sum, I think the new car now is almost as good as its going to get, whereas the gen. 1 car was dramatically improved by the suspension tweaks which define the GTS package.

If I were a betting man, my bet would be not to wait for the GTS in the new cayenne. It will likely amount to a sport exhaust, a body kit, a nice set of wheels and some retuning of the ECU. All of which you can put on a Cayenne S right now.

My 2 cents...

Happy 4th!

 

The new Cayennes are much improved over the old generation. I had an 04s and while I thought it was great, the new one is even better. Before I bought the 04, I drove alot of suv's which I needed to complement my Boxster at the time. I didn't drive the Cayenne because it was so relatively new. I drove the X5, the MB, the RR and ended up with a Honda Pilot. To me, all of those were tipping and felt very truck like. Then, I ended up getting a Cayenne for a service loaner(they used to do that!) and that's all it took for me. I ended up going home, getting the Pilot and trading it on the same day. I loved it until the end of the lease when i stupidly thought I needed a sedan and got a 335i which was good as well. Hopefully, I will get the new one sooner than I thought.

HS update: got a loaner today, an RX 350 which I will drive for atleast a month. I am hoping to hear better news from Lexus. The GM told me today that Lexus already has a fix for the gas tank, which I am skeptical about, but I am playing the game for now. They have taken all of the cars off the lot and sales have ceased.

Happy 4th to everyone as well!!!

 

Not having driven either yet, so based on numbers alone...I'm thinking the Cayenne S. I know it's down on torque, but go check the weight of each. The Cayenne is 800 lbs lighter. Which mod is pretty well a guarantee in improving performance? Weight reduction!

 

Will there be a new GTS?

 

you will enjoy the X5. I love my turbo but the X5 is a solid ride, at a great value.

 

A good friend of mine loves his GTS and is "waiting" for a new GTS as well.

The GTS has 25 more hp than a Cayenne S. That is relative to a 14 hp increase on a 911 (by crude math). What's my point? The GTS is not appreciably more powerful than an S (it has essentially the same peak torque). What it does do is feel faster than an S. Exhaust note, gearing, torque converter settings can all contribute to 6.3 feeling much faster than 6.7 to 60. And the GTS certainly handles better than an S (the GTS suspension should have come on the first cayenne ever sold frankly).

So now we fast forward to the 2011 Cayenne. Can they squeeze more power our of it than a GTS. Probably not much, its the same engine. They can give it a body kit, nicer wheels and perhaps tune up the suspension somehow. That will be where the GTS's appeal lies, not in additional power - it effectively has never had "additional" power.

That said, I think the new Cayenne is a perfect product. It's more feminine and yet also more modern (so it satisfies both the wife and you). The wheel options are a little lacking but the car is going to do very well. And they finally realized that non-billionaires deserve a panoramic roof too. It was over $3k on the old car. Now it's much less.

My 2 cents.

 

BMW didn't do much to update the X5. More torque is great for making the car drive "smaller" or lighter, but the Cayenne actually is lighter than the X by about 400 lbs. This surfaces in the corners.

Personally, the turnoff to me of SUVs is that when you drive them hard you can almost feel the intense wear and tear on the components b/c of weight (same with AMG cars). You can feel (and smell) the brake pads disintegrating and the bushings getting smacked and the tires howling their way to the 12k mile mark where they'll be toast.

My wife has a 4.8 X5 sport 20'' wheels, active steering, hydraulic anti-roll etc... The car is fast and flies around corners, but thing is...it doesn't feel good doing it. The new Cayenne drives lighter b/c it is lighter and this, I think, will make all the difference. B/c the BM will be improved with more power, but the Bavarians decided not to include the active rear diff from the X6 and M cars on the X5 5.0 (a handicap to preserve M superiority no doubt) . It is optional on the Cayenne, and so I'm guessing Porsche has finally produced an SUV superior to the X5 (which -apples to apples- it really hasn't done until now).

I'll post after I drive my friend's 5.0

DRP