New ‘extroverted’ Cayenne Coupe Electric unveiled

The Cayenne Electric, Porsche’s second EV after the Taycan, simply had to be good for it to stand any chance of following in the big-selling footsteps of the combustion model – and our first go abroad suggests it’s just that. But Porsche rests on its laurels for about a nanosecond these days, so it’s already time for the chapter in the battery-powered story: namely, the Cayenne Coupe Electric, complete with an ‘emotive design’ which is said to be different from the A-pillar back. 

Precisely what emotion it arouses in you is obviously a matter for private reflection (unless you’d like to share below, of course), but its maker would very much like it if you made a visual connection with the roofline of the 911. Aping – or at the very least, drawing influence from – the ‘flyline’ (basically the swoop of the C-pillar over the wheel arches ) is what the Cayenne Coupe is all about. Theoretically making it the perfect counterpart to the iconic sports car already parked on your driveway. 

We’ve been here before, of course, the Coupe now firmly established as part of the modern SUV portfolio, though it’s notable here (to these eyes, at any rate) that the overtly sportier version might actually be the prettier one. We use ‘pretty’ there in the loosest possible sense; no iteration of the Cayenne Electric is what you’d charitably call a looker – yet the non-Turbo Coupe arguably comes closest (non-Turbo because the ‘aeroblades’ fitted the flagship are a blatant eyesore). 

Elsewhere, the trade-offs are familiar. Porsche suggests the newcomer offers ‘outstanding everyday practicality’, though it concedes that at its highest point, the Coupe is 24mm lower than the standard model – so expect a modest bite to have been taken from the available rear headroom. Expect the boot volume to be similarly handicapped, though at 534 litres (and 1,347 litres with the seats down) it ought to be sufficiently commodious for most families, and there’s a 90 litres available under the bonnet. 

Your reward for making do with a marginally smaller interior is a notable reduction in drag, to the extent where the Cayenne Coupe Electric’s combined WLTP range increases by 11 miles. Though this advantage is somewhat tempered by the premium required to access it: where the conventional SUV starts at £83,200 in the UK, the Coupe is £86,200. That’s for an entry-level car which, in terms of its mechanical configuration, is exactly the same. Ditto the 666hp S and 1,156hp Turbo, priced from £103,100 and £133,300, respectively. 

Porsche suggests that there’s an uptick in the standard equipment to help justify the additional cost, although possibly the most interesting spec component is the Coupe-specific Lightweight Sport package. This includes a carbon roof, ‘sporty’ carbon inserts, bespoke 22-inch wheels and a tyre upgrade, said to reduce the Cayenne’s kerbweight by up to 17.6kg. A drop in the ocean, you might say, but you also get classic Pepita pattern cloth on the inside alongside a Race-Tex headliner and open-pore carbon for the gathering of sticky fingerprints. Something to think about if you’d like to order a Coupe immediately, which you can already do ahead of first customer deliveries this summer.