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With a striking new face that features a dramatic new headlight design and with a wide and muscular body accented by broad wheel arches, the 2008 Porsche Cayenne’s newly sculpted shape provides vivid visual testimony to the vehicle’s enhanced technical features. bThe 2008 model year marks the launch of the second generation of the Porsche SUV, and the new Cayennes back up their aggressive new design with larger and more powerful – but also more fuelefficient – engines.

As you would expect from Porsche, the new Cayenne not only looks more powerful, it is, with engines offering as much as 500 horsepower and new dynamic technologies that allow the Porsche of SUVs to perform more like a more nimble vehicle, yet still be capable of towing a trailer or challenging unpaved terrain and inclement weather.

Indeed, all three 2008 Porsche Cayenne models feature engines that for the first time boast direct fuel injection, a technology that enhances fuel efficiency as well as power production. For the 2008 Porsche Cayenne Turbo, that means a twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V8 that pumps out an astounding 500 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Flowing through a six-speed Tiptronic S transmission, that power feeds all four wheels and propels the five-passenger sports machine from a standing start to 60 miles per hour (96 km/h) in just 4.9 seconds. Top speed on the test track has been recorded at 171 mph (275 km/h). And yet, the Cayenne Turbo qualifies as an LEVII (low-emission vehicle) and in preliminary fuel economy testing the Cayenne Turbo showed the benefits of the direct fuel injection technology with an improvement up to 11 percent in highway driving. The estimated EPA fuel economy values are 13 mpg for city driving and 20 mpg on the highway.

For the 2008 Porsche Cayenne S, the engine is a normally aspirated version of the 4.8-liter V8 that generates 385 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. Equipped with the standard six-speed Tiptronic® S transmission, the Cayenne S can accelerate to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and has reached 155 mph (250 km/h) in testing. The Cayenne S V8 even meets ULEV (ultra low-emission vehicle) status and according to preliminary testing data the estimated EPA fuel economy values for the new Cayenne S are 14 mpg in the city and 21 on the highway. That is an improvement of 3 mpg or around 15 percent for highway fuel economy.


The 2008 Porsche Cayenne is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 that pumps out 290 horsepower and 283 lb-ft of torque. With the manual gearbox, the Cayenne reaches 60 mph in 7.5 seconds and has reached 141 mph (227 km/h) in testing. The new Cayenne gains LEV2 emission status and preliminary fuel economy testing showed estimated EPA fuel economy figures of 18 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. That is a fuel economy improvement of 3 mpg for city driving.

Direct fuel injection is only one of the new technologies featured on the 2008 Porsche Cayenne, Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo. For example, for the first time the Cayenne V8 engines also are equipped with Porsche VarioCam® Plus variable valve control.

The second generation SUVs can be equipped with Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) that includes active anti-roll bars that almost completely offset body roll in turns, improving handling, comfort and safety on road while also providing enhanced traction off pavement.

New as well are Dynamic Curve Lights (standard on the Cayenne Turbo and optional on the other models) to enhance the driver’s view at night on a curving roads.

Standard equipment on all versions of the 2008 Cayenne includes Porsche Stability Management (PSM®), now with new functions such as pre-loading of the braking system when needed, new Trailer Stability Control and off-road ABS.

For the first time, the Cayennes come with a rollover sensor able in an emergency to trigger both the belt latch tensioners and curtain airbags, thus helping to reduce the risk of injury for all occupants in a rollover. In conjunction with the Cayenne’s six standard airbags, this system gives Porsche’s sport utility a benchmark occupant safety and protection system.