V8 Porsche Cayenne Will Stay On Sale Alongside Next-Gen EV

The current Porsche Cayenne is as good as the model’s ever been, which is good news, because Porsche has just confirmed it’s going to be sticking around at least into the next decade.

The announcement comes alongside news that development of the fourth-gen model is well underway, and that it’ll be a full EV. We also get our first glimpse at that fourth generation in heavily camouflaged form. It’ll debut, according to Porsche, in the middle of the decade (sounds like next year to us), based on the VW Group’s Premium Platform Electric which also underpins the new electric Macan and Audi Q6 E-Tron.

However, in line with the recent news that Porsche is backing off its target to have EVs comprise 80 per cent of its sales come the end of the decade, the current third-gen Cayenne will live alongside the new electric version for a long time.

Introduced in 2017 and given a heavy facelift in 2023, Porsche says it’ll be sticking around well into the 2030s. This is around twice the usual lifecycle of a model, but it’s set to get plenty of updates to keep it competitive.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said:

“The Cayenne has always defined the sports car in its segment. In the middle of the decade, the fourth generation will set standards in the segment as an electric SUV. At the same time, into the next decade our customers will still be able to choose from a wide range of powerful and efficient combustion and hybrid models.”

Particularly piquing our interest about this announcement is that Porsche specifically mentions the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 found in the S, GTS and Turbo versions of the current Cayenne. The company says it’ll be treated to a raft of upgrades to keep it compliant with future emissions legislation. Sounds like music to our ears. Rumbly V8 music.