Porsche's Pricing Strategy Doesn't Make Any Sense: Base Cayenne $500 Cheaper than Macan!

Many readers had high expectations about the new Porsche Macan, and while at a first glance, the compact premium crossover does score points on several levels, it heavily disappoints on one: pricing. Actually, the funny thing is that, in the U.S., both versions of the Macan are more expensive than the respective models of the bigger Cayenne – from $500 to $5,700 more!

More specifically, the Macan starts at $49,900 (and not $50,895 as mentioned in a previous report) excluding a $1,195 destination and delivery charge that lifts the price to $51,095 for the base "S" model with a 3.0-liter bi-turbo V6 producing 335HP (340PS).

The base Cayenne, on the other hand, which sports a less-powerful, naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6 with 300hp, starts at $49,600, or $300 less than the Macan S, while destination and delivery is also $200 less at $995, rising the difference to $500! Even if the Macan has 10+ percent more power, and possibly, but not surely, more kit, it still doesn't make sense since we are talking about a smaller model.

It's even worse when it comes to the Macan Turbo vs. the Cayenne S, as the smaller model with a 3.6-liter V6 biturbo rated at 394hp (400PS) starts at $72,300 (plus $1,195 delivery), while the bigger Cayenne S with a 394hp (400PS) 4.8-liter V8 begins from $66,800 (plus $995 delivery), increasing the difference to $5,500 or $5,700 if you take into consideration the D&H charge! Speaking of fees, it would be nice if someone from Porsche explained why they're charging an extra $200 for D&H for the smaller Macan.

Yes, Porsche will add a lower-cost, entry-level version to the Macan's range sometime in the future, but right now, we'd love to see Porsche salesmen try to explain the difference to prospect buyers…unless, of course, they're planning to increase the price of the Cayenne in the coming months…

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Porsche Shows That the Cayenne Turbo S Feels Equally at Home on the Track and Off the Road

There’s a reason for which the Cayenne is by far Porsche’s best-selling model - apart from being an SUV. Few cars of this type manage to combine sports car-like performance with good off-road capabilities, and the contrast is most striking on the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S.

Packing 550 PS (543hp) and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) from a 4.2-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the range-topping Cayenne sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.3 seconds – the same as the Porsche 911 Carrera S coupe.

Furthermore, it holds itself well in curves and has been described by many reviewers as the best SUV in terms of dynamics. What we haven’t seen too often though is a Cayenne Turbo S taking on an off-road course.

Porsche's Chief Driving Consultant Gordon Robertson drove the Cayenne Turbo S at the Porsche Experience Centre Silverstone both on the handling and off-road circuits to demonstrate the SUV’s dual personality. Scroll down to see the 543hp Cayenne tackling 45-degree hill descents, as well as steep and uneven side-slopes.

By Dan Mihalascu

VIDEO

Rinspeed Chopster is a Rare Sight, and It Should Probably Stay That Way…

So, this is what happens when a Porsche Cayenne Mk1 and a Jeep Compass get together for a wild night and have a baby; I just kid, but you do see the resemblance between these two SUVs…

Spotted in a parking lot in Moscow by Autogespot spotter (okay, I'm done with the spots now) Casador, this is the very rare Chopster made back in 2005 as a joint project between the crazy Swiss minds at Rinspeed AG and EDAG Engineering + Design AG.

It's based on the first generation of the Porsche Cayenne, but has a 70mm lower height after its roof was chopped down, while it also gained in girth with the use of bloated wheel arches.

At the time, Johannes Barckmann, director of the EDAG-design studio, had said this about the Chopster: "Our inspiration for the design of the Chopster was the image of an American football player whose outfit and athleticism stands for enormous strength and assertiveness."

More like Aaron Gibson sat on a Cayenne's top  if you ask us, but yeah, let's just leave it at that.

The odd-looking Swiss made SUV came with a tuned 600hp V8 turbo and had a starting price of €325,000 – and no, we did not add an extra zero in there…

Photos via Rinspeed and Autogespot

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ASMA Design Does its Aero Thing on the New Porsche Cayenne Turbo

It has been a while since we last heard from ASMA Design, a German tuning house known for its excessive styling creations such as the…unforgettable Phantasma CL Chrome and Shark II CLS.
For its latest tuning job, ASMA Design chose the second generation of the Porsche Cayenne in Turbo trim. Named "The Giant", the styling package turns Stuttgart's SUV into something that would fit right in a Fast & Furious movie.

Porsche to Bring Historic Race Cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed

An array of historic Porsche race cars will make their way at this at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed that takes place in the UK from 2 to 4 July. The German automaker said that it will be bringing some of the victorious sports cars from the Targa Florio road race in Sicily, as well as the Porsche 917 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1970 win at Le Mans.

Cayenne And Panamera

Even in this harsh economical climate, Porsche sales continue to grow, as the German maker shifted 21,218 units in the first three months of the 2010 short fiscal year (August 1 – December 31). That's an impressive 86.4% growth compared to the same period last year, although Porsche management admits that the prior-year quarter was "relatively weak", so a higher growth rate was expected.

Porsche Sales Increase Substantially, Cayenne Leads the Pack

Porsche deliveries have increased substantially last month, with the German luxury carmaker selling 10,667 vehicles, up 29.5% compared to June 2010. Porsche's first half of the year sales also increased by 36.8% compared to the same period in 2010, with a total of 60,659 units sold from January throughout June.

Lumma Design Restyles the New Porsche Cayenne II

You didn’t think the German tuning industry was done with the second generation of the Porsche Cayenne, did you? Of course not. Say hello to the new Porsche Cayenne CLR 558 GT dressed up by none other than Lumma Design.
The German design house’s CLR 558 GT package upgrades the appearance of the luxury SUV with a new wide body aero kit. It comprises of a redesigned, two-tone front bumper with a plethora of LEDs and fog lights, a carbon Kevlar hood with air vents, high rising side skirts, wheel arch extensions, and a restyled rear bumper housing a diffuser and three central mounted exhaust tail pipes.

The King of Overkill Captured in Canada by Carscoop Reader

If there was ever a prize for the crappiest application of decorative ornaments and decals of any sort on an automobile, this here Porsche Cayenne would win the contest hands down. I mean, just look at it…
We first showed you the Porsche Cayenne with the Ontario license plates last Friday, but today, Carscoop reader Jonathan Fernando spotted the car parked outside –wait for the drum roll- a….Dollarama store and didn’t waste the opportunity to snap a few photos.

Decorative Overkill on a Porsche Cayenne SUV

While never mainstream, car decorations in the broadest sense of the word have always appealed to certain people. However, this is something you expect to see on an old, probably run down, conventional vehicle and not on a fairly new upscale model like the first generation Porsche Cayenne SUV….
The absurdly decorated German SUV with the Ontario license plates is covered in stickers, badges, chrome add-ons, reflectors and toys. We even managed to discover a few LED spotlights on the SUV's hood. Talk about overkill… More photos in the gallery after the jump.

Porsche Improves Cayenne’s V6 Diesel and Introduces 540HP Powerkit for Turbo Model

Less than a year after the market launch of the second iteration of the Cayenne, Porsche has introduced a revised version of the SUV’s diesel engine while also improving and adding new options to the rest of the range. Beginning with the Cayenne Diesel, the 3.0-liter V6 oil-burner has been reworked by Porsche engineers and features a new turbocharger with improved response and greater efficiency, increased direct injection pressure to 2000 bar and a lighter crankshaft.

SpeedART’s Porsche Cayenne Titan EVO-XL 600 goes on Sale

If you’re been unimpressed by the second generation of the Porsche Cayenne so far, no need to worry as Stuttgart's SUV has gathered heaps of aftermarket attention in Europe. Following an announcement earlier this year, longtime Porsche tuning house SpeedART has launched a performance package for the latest Cayenne, dubbed the EVO-XL 600.

Gemballa Debuts Panamera Mistrale and Cayenne Tornado at Top Marques Monaco Show

For 30 years now, German-based tuning house Gemballa has been taking the latest Porsche models and transforming them into custom machines with wild outputs. Despite the recent loss of the firm’s founder, Uwe Gemballa, the company continues to roll new creations. At this week’s 2011 Top Marques Monaco Show (April 14-17), Gemballa is showing off two newcomers, the Porsche Cayenne II based Tornado and the Panamera sedan-based Mistrale.
Both the Tornado and the Mistrale feature a heavily customized body with unique front and rear ends, and an array of bespoke aero parts. According to the German tuning house, the new components not only change the appearance of the two Porsche models, but also help reduce weight.

Wheel Explosion Fail: Porsche Cayenne and Mud don’t Mix [with Video]

Watching a modded Porsche Cayenne stuck in the mud can be quite amusing, as this video proves. While the details surrounding the incident are still fuzzy, the clip first shows a truck trying to pull the blacked out Cayenne from its muddy prison and then for some reason, the owner decides to do it by himself. The result? One of the wheels explodes triggering the airbags and causing damages to the vehicle. Watch this Porsche owner’s ‘Moment of Zen’ in the clip after the break.