Porsche Cayenne Electric Will Be Able To Tow More Than 7,700 Pounds, And Prototypes Are Winning Hill Climbs

After much speculation Porsche announced last year that the next-generation Cayenne SUV will be fully electric, with the current internal-combustion Cayenne to continue on with more V8s and hybrid powertrains. Porsche says it’s still “long before the market launch” of the Cayenne Electric, but the company is now showing off near-production prototypes with barely any camouflage not just driving around in public, but competing in hill climbs — and winning.

A few weeks ago, a Cayenne EV prototype was entered in the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb in Worcestershire, England, which has been running since 1905. Gabriela Jílková, a development driver for Porsche’s Formula E team, took the Cayenne Electric up the hill and beat the previous SUV record (set by a Bentley Bentayga) by more than four seconds on her very first attempt. Coinciding with the same event, ex-“Top Gear” presenter Richard Hammond got to experience the towing capacity of the Cayenne Electric, which will be the same as the combustion Cayenne.

Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb is 1,000 yards long and features a grade of up to 16.7%, and as Jílková describes it, “The course is challenging and does not forgive mistakes, there are no run-off zones and little room for correction.” The Cayenne she drove was a prototype, but Porsche says the powertrain and equipment were already production-spec, and it was equipped with summer tires. Jílková rocketed the Cayenne up the hill in 31.28 seconds, but Porsche says the more impressive stat is that 60 yards were covered in just 1.94 seconds, a feat only matched at the event by single-seat race cars on slicks. It looks properly rapid.

The electric Cayenne will be offered with Porsche’s Active Ride suspension system that was first introduced on the Panamera and Taycan. It’s able to keep the body level even under hard cornering and braking while still offering great ride comfort, and surely it’ll be able to do some cool off-road stuff — in the Panamera and Taycan, the Active Ride system can immediately raise the ride height as soon as you open the door.

Porsche says the Cayenne Electric will be able to tow up to 7,716 pounds, which is the same as a current internal-combustion Cayenne. Aside from the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ, which can tow up to 10,000 and 8,000 pounds, respectively, that’ll put the Cayenne EV at the top of the list in terms of electric SUV towing capacities. The Rivian R1S can pull an almost-as-good 7,700 pounds, while the Lucid Gravity can tow 6,000 pounds, the BMW iX and Polestar 3 can tow 3,500 pounds, and the Mercedes-Benz G580 can’t tow at all.

To show that off, Richard Hammond used the Cayenne prototype to tow his 100-plus-year-old Lagonda sports car to the hill climb. He doesn’t get to talk too much about what the Cayenne is like to drive, but he’s certainly positive about Porsche offering EVs like this next-gen Cayenne along with internal-combustion models.

This is also our best look yet at the Cayenne Electric’s design, and I think it’s looking really good. It looks a lot longer than the current Cayenne, with a thicker D-pillar and less coupe-like roofline. It looks wider, too, with a great stance accented by the fender flares, nice body sculpting and fat tires. There are no split headlight pods here, with the Cayenne’s only headlights being fairly slim units at the top of the nose with a four-point design. Active grille shutters are found in the lower bumper, and at the corners of the bumper there are triangular intakes.

Unlike a lot of other electric SUVs, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of heft to the midsection. The rear end has a prominent diffuser, what look like heat extractors at the corners of the bumper, and a full-width tail light. And don’t worry, it has a rear wiper. There’s a seemingly big frunk that’s opened by swiping your hand over the badge, and Hammond confirms that it’ll have more interior space.

On his not-record-setting drive up the hill, Hammond says the Cayenne Electric will be more powerful than the current most-powerful Cayenne, the 729-horsepower Turbo E-Hybrid, and he hints that it may have more than 1,000 hp. He says that in “track” mode (I’m assuming that’s just Sport Plus, but who knows) the invented EV noises have a bit of V8 sound mixed in, which he enjoys.

Michael Schätzle, vice president of the Cayenne model line, says Porsche’s customers “will also have powerful and efficient combustion engine and hybrid models at their disposal well into the next decade, and we are continuing to develop the current model generation at great expense. However, we can only achieve the level of performance publicly demonstrated for the first time in England through the potential of electrification. The Cayenne Electric will set new standards – without compromising on everyday usability and practicality.” The Cayenne Electric will be on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, but it may not be fully revealed until next year.