The third-generation Porsche Cayenne has been around for a good few years now, having made its debut in 2017 as a 2018-year model. Over the second-generation model, the E3 Cayenne’s MLB Evo platform brought a 48-volt electrical architecture which opened the door to features such as rear-axle steering, three-chamber air suspension and electronic roll stabilisation.
Being a mid-lifecycle facelift, the upcoming revision for the Cayenne should continue to be on the MLB Evo platform with the aforementioned electrically enhanced chassis capabilities, though what’s more immediately apparent to be different here are its headlamps and tail lamps.
Up in front, the headlamps appear to be slightly flatter and wider, though there remains a considerable amount of camouflage on the development unit photographed here. This would also appear to be the Turbo or Turbo S variant, with its dual stacked LED daytime running lights housed in the side intakes which are larger relative to those on lesser variants of the Cayenne.
The visual changes are slightly more apparent at the back, where the full-width light strip across the tailgate on the current E3 Cayenne is now more prominent and thicker – maybe shades of an early-Eighties Pontiac Trans Am interpreted for 2020s Porsche? Then again, camouflage bodywork is intended to throw off spyshots observers.
Meanwhile, the rear license plate on this unit has been relocated downwards to the bumper to match that of the Macan, as opposed to the mid-tailgate position on the pre-facelift E3 Cayenne. Will these carry on to the final production car? Time will tell.
The mid-lifecycle update is also a good time for incremental power and torque gains, and though powertrain options have yet to be officially confirmed for the Cayenne facelift, the 630 PS/820 Nm 4.0 litre biturbo V8 unit from the facelifted Panamera Turbo S would seem a good fit, with outputs that would slot nicely in between the current 550 PS/770 Nm Cayenne Turbo and the 680 PS/900 Nm Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid PHEV.
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