The 2025 Porsche Cayenne GTS has a robust powertrain, sharply tuned suspension and specific design tweaks
The famed German automaker has always considered its popular-selling Cayenne both a high-performance sports car and an off-road-capable SUV. However, for the GTS models, this balance, it says, “has traditionally shifted toward improved on-road capability.” In short, with a robust powertrain, sharply tuned suspension and specific design tweaks, the new CayenneGTS is track capable while also suited to everyday use. Let’s break it down:
What’s under the hood of the 2025 Porsche Cayenne GTS?
Porsche’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has undergone an extensive power bump for the GTS, giving the sport-ute — emphasis on sport — a significant increase in performance. The engine now pushes out 493 horsepower, up 40 hp when compared with the previous model. Maximum torque is now 486 pound-feet, an increase of 29 lb-ft. Porsche engineers also revised the ZF eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission, improving driving performance through shorter response and shift times in Sport and Sport Plus modes.
What’s this all mean? The Cayenne GTS will now accelerate to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds. And, yes, if you must know, top speed — for those who can find a track with a long enough straight — is 275 km/h.
That’s not all. The transfer box for the all-wheel-drive Porsche Traction Management (PTM) features an independent water-cooling circuit, adopted from the high-performance Turbo GT model. Porsche says it stabilizes the continuous load capacity, such as when track driving or navigating mountain routes.
If a ballsy engine note is your jam, and it should be, the Coupe will accommodate with a Sports exhaust system with centrally positioned tailpipes in dark bronze, available as part of the three different lightweight sports packages. These also include a lightweight roof and a carbon rear diffuser, as well as reduced insulation. Depending on the equipment, the Lightweight packages can reduce the weight of the Coupe by up to 25 kilograms.
Cayenne Turbo GT chassis technology
The GTS has the engine to promise a fun time; Porsche engineers made sure there’s the appropriate underpinnings to back it up. The GTS-specific chassis comes with a 10-millimetre-lower ride height. Digging a little deeper, the sport-ute is now equipped with standard adaptive air suspension, including Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus). All chassis components and control systems, such as Porsche Traction Management (PTM) and the optional Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC), are specifically designed for on-road performance.
The GTS’s two-valve damper technology offers impressive responsiveness, and its two-chamber air suspension gives the Cayenne a highly dynamic spring rate while simultaneously ensuring driver comfort. The front axle pivot bearings originate from the Cayenne Turbo GT and increase the negative camber of the wheels by 0.58 degrees. Not that other Cayenne models are three-legged hippos by comparison, but the GTS has especially agile handling, especially when cornering.
Does the GTS look that much different from other Cayenne models?
The Porsche Cayenne GTS cabin
The GTS also benefits from a recent comprehensive product upgrade for the Cayenne, which includes the new Porsche Driver Experience with a standard 12.6-inch curved digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch centre touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, and an optional 10.9-inch passenger display. In addition to the Sport Design package, dark-tinted HD matrix LED headlights and air suspension, the model also features a Bose surround-sound system and ambient lighting. The GTS Coupe adds a fixed glass panoramic roof in glass as well as an adaptive extending rear spoiler.
The toggle shifter, mounted on the dashboard, frees up space on the centre console.
How does the Porsche Cayenne GTS drive?
C’mon, this is Porsche we’re talking about. Do you really expect the Cayenne — any Cayenne — to offer anything less than an exemplary driving experience? Short answer? No. Does the GTS amplify said experience? Yes. And, typical of Porsche, it will cost. But, oh my, if you truly want a five-seat SUV that thinks it’s a sports car, despite weighing around 5,000 pounds, this is it.
While the first hour behind the wheel was typical highway commuting, the rest of the day was spent navigating the twisting roads of north Georgia, in and around the Chattahoochee National Forest, the sort of meandering and undulating two-lane that makes bikers and drivers of low-slung exotics weep with joy and, in the more extreme hairpins, those with sensitive stomachs just weep.
To say the GTS — my driving partner and I spent most of our time in a Coupe with the Lightweight package — was in its element would be a gross understatement of its abilities. Switching to Sport mode from Normal — my partner preferred Sport+ — the sport-ute handled like a dream, cornering flat, with no perceptible body roll. Thank the active anti-roll bars for that. One quibble is that upshifts could get rather abrupt in the more aggressive modes.
The tarmac was in very good shape, so there wasn’t much of a challenge for the suspension from a comfort perspective. Then there’s the firm, communicative steering, and reassuring grip from the meaty Pirelli rubber, aided by the rear-wheel steering. There were plenty of passing lanes to get around slower-moving RVs and transport trucks, and it took just a slight increase of pressure on the gas pedal to get around them and maintain our speedy momentum.
2025 Porsche Cayenne GTS Canadian pricing and availability
Porsche is offering the new 2025 Cayenne GTS priced from $134,800 for the SUV and $139,800 for the Coupe. Deliveries will begin in the fourth quarter of 2024.
What competes with the Porsche Cayenne GTS?
Final thoughts
Now, do you absolutely need the GTS, especially when you’re talking about $135K for the SUV and another five grand for the Coupe, before tacking on the copious options? Or could you show some fiscal restraint and find satisfaction with the lower priced base model or S? Yes, but no, not if you’re the sort who disdains compromise. The GTS is brash, bold and bloody quick — and doesn’t require the qualifier “for an SUV.”
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