I don’t know about you but RUF is the first name that comes to my mind when I think of a souped up Porsche. They have a few cars in their line-up, even one based on the Cayenne, but while other Porsche models like the Cayenne gets taglines like ‘an SUV lover’s Porsche’, or the ‘poor man’s Porsche’ for the Boxster (not here in Malaysia of course), it is the 911 that is considered THE Porsche. And the first RUF RGT was based on a 911 – the type 996 to be exact. But those first incarnations of the RGT used engines based on what was originally found in the car – 6-pot boxers, souped up to produce more power than Porsche originally intended. The first RGT used the 996 GT3′s 3.6 litre engine as a base, but used the crankcase from the air-cooled version of the 3.6 litre engine.

The new RUF RGT-8 is the third generation RGT. And it no longer runs a Porsche 6-pot. RUF has junked the 6-pot (to be donated to Volkswagen Beetle dragsters somewhere across the globe?) in favor for a RUF-designed V8. It’s not the same engine as the Porsche V8s found in the Panamera and the Cayenne. Those are ‘conventional’ cross-plane crank V8s, but this RUF V8 has a 180 degree ‘flatcrank’ similiar to Ferraris. They sound much different compared to the cross-plane ‘American-ish’ rumbly sound that we typically associate with V8s. Ever hear a Ferrari ‘rumble’? No, they have high pitched superbike-like howls, sounding more like two Civic Type R engines screaming in unison rather than an American V8.

The RUF V8 is 4.5 litres in size is a high revving monster weighing less than 200kg, producing 550 horsepower at 8,500rpm and 500Nm of torque at 5,400rpm. That’s more power than what the high-revving 3.8 litre boxer in the 911 GT3 RS makes by a good 100 horses. The engine is built on an aluminum crankcase with dry sump lubrication. Each V bank has its own throttle butterfly. Waterpump, alternator and the aircond compressor are all driven directly by the engine without any belts, and are located in the lowest position possible. The engine puts power to the rear wheels only, via 6-speed manual transmission.

Look after the jump for hi-res pix of the new RGT-8.
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After the Cayenne image leak today and the impending arrival of the Geneva press days, it’s not unexpected that Porsche has unveiled full press information for the new second generation Porsche Cayenne today.

Porsche has trimmed the fat on this porker a little, for example the Cayenne S gets its weight down by 180kg over the outgoing model. The Cayenne platform’s wheelbase has been extended by 40mm and on the overall, the body is 48mm longer than the outgoing car. The range starts with the 3.6 litre V6 model, the cheapest entry into Cayenne ownership. Power has been upped to 300 horses, and while mated to the 8-speed Tiptronic S transmission, fuel consumption is down by 20% to 9.9 litres per 100km.

The model that spearheads the new range is apparently the Hybrid version, which is no slouch as it gets an “S” in its name. The Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid features a 333 horsepower supercharged V6 engine paired with a 34kW (47hp) electric motor. The car can run on electric power only at speeds of up to 60km/h and while cruising, the combustion engine may stay off and the car may just glide along until a maximum speed of 156km/h.

The Cayenne S Hybrid’s peak power is rated at 380hp and peak torque is a massive 580Nm at – check this out – 1,000rpm! That’s just over idle speed and you already have more (rated) torque than the Cayenne Diesel! Only a test drive will tell if these paper figures are indeed how it will feel like in real life though. The Cayenne Diesel uses a 3.0 litre V6 turbodiesel making 240hp and 550Nm of torque. It’s fuel consumption has been improved by 20%, bringing it down from 9.3 litres per 100km to only 7.4 litres per 100km.

The Cayenne S’s 4.8 litre V8 gets a 23% fuel consumption improvement – it now guzzles only 10.5 litres per 100km. The new engine makes more power at 400 horses compared to the outgoing model’s 385. The monster is of course the Cayenne Turbo, making 500 horsepower. The bumper of the Cayenne Turbo is significantly different to the rest of the range – the intake grilles are far larger in order to provide sufficient cooling. While they add a dose of aggressiveness to the car, it looks kinda overdone.

German prices including 19% VAT:
Cayenne 55,431 Euro
Cayenne Diesel 59,596 Euro
Cayenne S 72,686 Euro
Cayenne S Hybrid 78,636 Euro
Cayenne Turbo 115,526 Euro

Look after the jump for some videos, a full hi-res gallery of the new Cayenne range as well as the full press release in embedded PDF format.
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One half of the Cayenne-Touareg ‘twins’ have already been unveiled, but there has already been hints of the new version of the popular Porsche Cayenne being dropped around by Porsche. Look at the promotional image of the new Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid shown above – notice there’s an SUV following it? All we can see is the headlamps right now but with a little Photoshop magic…

Tada! We’ll see the all-new Cayenne in full in the Geneva at the end of this month.

Porsche has finally released the “baseline” model of the Panamera – the Panamera and the Panamera 4. Up until now the Panamera has only been available with normally aspirated or turbocharged versions of its V8 engine.

The new Panamera variant is powered by a 3.6 litre V6 engine with direct fuel injection, producing 300 horsepower and a very impressive 400Nm of torque. That’s about 111Nm per litre of displacement, while a lot of other engines barely touch 100Nm per litre. Normally you only get 400Nm from well-tuned 4.0 litre engines.

The V6 engine will be mated to Porsche’s PDK gearbox and will also include Auto Start/Stop, allowing 30.4mpg for the Panamera and 29.4mpg for the four wheel drive Panamera 4. Both models are EU5 emissions compliant.

The introduction of this new V6-engined Panamera and Panamera 4 in Malaysia should lower the cost bar for entering the realm of Panamera ownership, and the 3.6 litre engine will enjoy significantly lower road tax too.
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