The 2022 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT is many things: the quickest SUV around the famous Nürburgring, the second-quickest SUV MotorTrend has ever tested, and ridiculously fun to drive. But the one thing it isn’t is a “real” Porsche Motorsports GT division product like the 911 GT3 or 718 Cayman GT4. Porsche has indicated several times, to MotorTrend and others, that the GT division itself “would never” build an SUV (unless it participated in a serious motorsport), and so the Cayenne team built the Turbo GT instead. So, what’s the deal with the Cayenne’s GT badge then? It all boils down to positioning in the Porsche hierarchy.
To understand the Cayenne Turbo GT’s name and why it isn’t an official GT division product, it’s worth quickly looking at the classic 911 hierarchy. At the bottom, you’ve got your 911 Carrera models, which are available in both upgraded forms (Carrera S) and with all-wheel drive (Carrera 4/4S). In the middle, you’ve got the 911 GTS. It typically gets even more power, upgraded brakes, and a sportier suspension tune. From here, the 911 family tree branches out. On one limb you’ll find the 911 Turbo and Turbo S, effectively the supercars of the 911 lineup, whereas on the other you’ll find the track-focused GT models—currently just the 911 GT3, but eventually the 911 GT2, too. This second limb, consisting of the GT models, isn’t developed by the 911 team. Instead, they’re engineered by the Porsche Motorsports GT division, the same group responsible for Porsche’s cup racecars.
The new Cayenne Turbo GT puts that classic Porsche hierarchy in question. The track-focused Super SUV, with its 631-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 (ironically sourced from the GT division and shared with the Lamborghini Urus), revised suspension system, upgraded brakes, and handful of other performance add-ons is unquestionably the performance leader of the Cayenne lineup. But like Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnell, Porsche had the need to go “one higher” than the Turbo S. In searching for a name for the new track-oriented Cayenne, a Porsche spokesperson tells us the Cayenne team looked to the GT team for inspiration. Given the performance capabilities of the new SUV, the feeling internally was that borrowing the GT name from Porsche Motorsports and naming the fastback SUV the Cayenne Turbo GT would signify that it was both the ultimate Cayenne, and a significant step further up the performance ladder than the lesser Turbo models. The fact that Porsche’s used the GT moniker on non-Motorsport cars before—like on the 1989 928 GT—made the decision even easier.
So how do you tell a “real” GT division car from one like the Cayenne Turbo GT? According to Porsche, it’s easy. It’s all in the numbers. Most every GT division street car will have their name tied into the race series they’re inspired by. The 911 GT3? 718 Cayman GT4? GT Cars. The 911 GTS? 718 GTS? Cayenne Turbo GT—those are all just “regular” Porsches.
Keyword: Why the Porsche Cayenne GT Officially Isn’t a Real GT Car