Love it or hate it, Porsche has sold more than 760,000 Cayennes since its introduction in 2002. Now, with the world premier of the new Cayenne just a little more than a week away (August 29th, 2017) Porsche is giving us a glimpse into the torture tests they’re putting their 3rd generation SUV through.
Starting as far back as 2014, Porsche began the design and testing process for the E3 (Porsche’s internal designation for this new generation of Cayenne). Starting with unit carriers, the testing process evolved through proto-types and pre-series test mules. Combined, these units have logged more than 2.75 million test miles.
Hot and cold: Global endurance test for the new Cayenne
To simulate extreme stresses, the prototypes of the new Cayenne are being tested all around the world, including on race tracks traditionally used by Porsche to test all its models:
- In Germany, the Hockenheimring and the especially challenging Nürburgring-Nordschleife are used.
- In Italy, the test cars are put through their paces in continuous operation on the 12.6-km high-speed track at Nardò.
But testing for speed and stability isn’t enough, it’s just the beginning. Each Cayenne, and all its body of materials, sensors and electronics have to prove their quality and durability in different climates and conditions. This includes:
- up to plus 50 degrees Celsius in the sand dunes of Dubai (UAE) and on dusty slopes in Death Valley (USA)
- up to minus 45 degrees Celsius on ice and snow in Alaska and Canada
- the stop-start traffic in the hot and humid conditions of Chinese cities
- multiple test tracks in Sweden, Finland and Spain
- extensive on and off-road testing in South Africa, Japan and New Zealand
Porsche likes to say that the life of one of their test mule Cayennes is so tough that they are unlikely to ever occur once a customer takes delivery from their dealer. This type of testing ensures your new Cayenne should last no matter what you throw at it. Seeing how our 2009 Porsche Cayenne is still going strong at 160,000+ miles, we tend to believe them.
View Comments (2)
hope they check the glue they use on the coolant pipes that fail and ruin the engine
Dear Porshe Engineering;
Please find a way to keep the rear window and hatch clean when driving in rain or dusty conditions. There is a perfect view of the dynamics of snow accumulation on the rear window and rear hatch in the video.