It sounds like the Volkswagen Group is about to get a new top-dog SUV. Speaking to Evo, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume says a Turbo S E-Hybrid variant is coming to the Cayenne, using the same electrified, twin-turbo V8 powertrain as the mind-bending Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. That car produces 680 horsepower. Assuming no horses are lost in the transition from Panamera to Cayenne, the range-topping Porsche SUV would trump its Lamborghini Urus cousin by almost 40 hp.
The current top-of-the-line Cayenne Turbo produces 541 hp from its unelectrified, twin-turbo V8. For a little more perspective, a Ferrari 488 GTB “only” makes 661 hp.
The news matches up with previous reports that have pegged the 2020 Audi RS7—a car that sits on the same MLB Evo platform as the Cayenne—to get a similarly powerful hybrid engine. The bigger-bottomed Cayenne Coupe revealed just last week is expected to get the Turbo S E-Hybrid treatment as well.
As a sign of the times we live in, a 680-horse Cayenne would not even be the most powerful SUV in the world. That title would still belong to Jeep’s 707-hp Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.
It’s unclear when the Lambo-beating Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid will drop but Evo predicts it to arrive on the scene sometime before the year is over.
Given the Turbo currently starts at $124,600 and taking a look at the Panamera’s pricing structure, we’d expect the Turbo S E-Hybrid Cayenne to cost at least $150,000 before options, taxes, and delivery.