Spicing up the Cayenne

I have this dive watch that can go the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is reportedly 10 kilometers under water, just in between the Philippine plate and the Pacific plate. I’ll never go there, of course, but that’s not the point. I just want to say that my watch could if I would.

That’s kind of the same deal with fancy SUVs. We’ve all been sucked in by the glossy brochures at the dealership that claim it can scale walls and cross rivers, but nobody in their right mind would drive a brand spanking new Cayenne out of the showroom and actually try it. Good thing for us is that there is no shortage of people who are not in their right minds.

Last week, PGA Cars brought in local off-road Guru and Rain Forest Challenge survivor, Beeboy Bargas, as well as two-time Transsyberia Rally competitor, Eddie Keng, to lead a select bunch of press and preferred customers down to a specially laid out off-road track to witness first hand just how capable their line up of luxury SUVs really are. While soaking up the festivities, PGA also gave us all a sneak preview of Porsche’s latest variant to their best selling model.

The man-made course featured a simulated river crossing as well as 45% mud hill climb, which was intended to showcase the class leading technology of Porsche’s advanced off-road electronics, including reverse hill descent and Porsche’s Active Suspension Management, which allows electronic adjustment to suit even the harshest conditions.

Yet as fun as it all was to get all dirty with a multi-million peso Porsche SUV, the real star of the show lay spotless in a display stand just to the side of the air-conditioned tent. Kids and grown ups lined up alongside the silver and orange display unit to have their picture taken beside this ground breaking new variant, the 2009 Cayenne S Transsyberia, which is yet to actually make its debut in the Paris Motor Show next month.

To celebrate their total domination of the 7,200-kilometer Transsyberia intercontinental rally from Moscow to the Mongolian Capital of Ulan Bator, Porsche has released a commemorative edition. Finished in rally colors like black on orange or silver and orange, the new Transsyberian edition makes a hell of an impression; its what I would imagine global warming to look like, if it were a color.

Apart from the rally combinations Black/Orange and Crystal Silver Metallic/Orange, Porsche offers the choice of more discreet Black/Meteor Grey Metallic and Meteor Grey Metallic/Crystal Silver Metallic color combinations.

With the exception of the Meteor Grey Metallic/Crystal Silver Metallic colour combination, the 18-inch Cayenne S II wheels come in each case in a contrasting colour, as do the side plates on the air intake grid, the “Cayenne S Transsyberia” model designation applied as a no-cost option at the side, the exterior mirror housings and the upper part of the extended roof spoiler with its double wing profile fixed in position.

Like the extra-robust rally model, the road-going version is also based on the Cayenne S with its 4.8-litre V8 naturally-aspirated power unit featuring highly economical and efficient Direct Fuel Injection. The big difference, however, is that the new Transsyberia comes with the high-performance power unit carried over from the Cayenne GTS, developing 405 bhp (298 kW) at 6,500 rpm and maximum torque of 500 Newton-metres (369 lb-ft) at 3,500 rpm.

Porsche claims that the six-speed manual gearbox version featured as standard, accelerates to 100 km/h comes in just 6.1 seconds – a full 0.5 seconds faster than the Cayenne S.

The modifications of the drivetrain have an even greater effect on the vehicle’s acceleration in gears of particular significance under everyday driving conditions and in racing: The manual Cayenne S Transsyberia claims to complete the interim sprint from 80 to 120 km/h in fifth gear in 6.6 seconds, which is a whopping two seconds faster than the Cayenne S. Top speed is claimed to be on par with the GTS version at 253 km/h or 158 mph.

Off-road roof headlights are available as a no-cost option and are placed in the vehicle upon delivery, since in Germany, at least, the headlights on the roof are not homologated for use on public roads.

The Transsyberia edition comes standard with air suspension including PASM Porsche Active Suspension Management for electronic adjustment of the damper system.

The optional Off-road Technology Package enhances the superior off-road qualities of the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia featured as standard from the start to an even higher level by means of a differential lock on the rear axle activated by the driver when required and controlled electronically. Other special features are side-sill protection with integrated side plates, reinforced engine protection at the bottom, and additional protection of the fuel tank and rear axle as well as a second towing hook/opening.

The Transsyberian Rally is considered by many as the world’s toughest race, so the idea to commemorate Porsche’s success seems to be a no-brainer. In 2006 a Porsche Cayenne won this highly demanding orientation and off-road rally. Then, entering the competition model for the Transsyberia Rally in 2007, Porsche again proved the outstanding competitiveness of a production-based Cayenne S in heavy terrain, finishing the rally first, second and third. And now, in the last event, the rally vehicle optimized to an even higher standard not only scored its third overall victory in the Transsyberia Rally, but even clinched all leading positions from 1 to 6.

Not that you will be doing that on your daily drive to the office, of course, but just because you won’t, isn’t it nice to know you can?