Porsche Cayenne

The new model features a much sleeker appearance than the current Cayenne. One of our shooters got a glimpse of the interior and reports that the cabin is heavily influenced by the new Porsche Panamera, so expect the 2011 Cayenne to have a vastly improved interior that uses higher quality materials.

Tthe new Cayenne should boast a variety of petrol, diesel and hybrid engines. On the petrol side, we can expect the 2011 Cayenne S to come with the Panamera's 4.8-litre V8 engine that develops 400 hp while the top-of-the-line Cayenne Turbo should be powered by the 4.8-litre biturbo V8 engine from the Panamera Turbo that delivers 500 hp. In diesel models, expect the current Volkswagen V6 TDI engine which produces 240 hp and 550 Nm of torque to carry over to the next generation with some minor improvements. Considering that Porsche's first Cayenne S hybrid will appear as a 2010 model, its hybrid powertrain should carry over to the 2011 Cayenne virtually unchanged. Power for the hybrid comes from Audi's supercharged 3.0-litre V6 engine that produces 333 horsepower, and it is connected to a three-phase synchronous electric motor which receives power from a 38 kW NiMH battery which is located in the spare wheel well.

The new Cayenne is also supposed to adopt a more street focused setup, which means some of the current model's bulky off-road equipment could be dropped in order to make the new one more Porsche-like. Audi took a similar approach when they introduced the Q7 and that model has received rave reviews for offering a decent driving experience despite its large size.