New Porsche Cayenne Electric lands with 398-mile range and 0-62mph in 2.5sec

On sale 2026 Price from £83,200

It may not be as well known as Silverstone or Brands Hatch, but the Shelsley Walsh hill climb has a longer racing history than either of them, having hosted its first event in 1905. In fact, that makes it the oldest motorsport venue in the world to still be in use, with it continuing to attract both amateur and professional drivers, and even big-name car brands.

This year, for example, the line-up included a prototype version of the Porsche Cayenne Electric, which promptly smashed the previous record for an SUV by more than four seconds. However, while the time it posted may have been small, most of the other numbers associated with this car are anything but.

Indeed, in its most powerful Turbo form, the new Cayenne Electric offers 1140bhp, making it the most powerful production Porsche to date and trumping the range-topping petrol Cayenne by a cool 410bhp.

That power allows the Cayenne Turbo Electric to accelerate to 62mph in an F1 car-rivalling 2.5sec – which, for a big heavy SUV, is no mean feat.

The regular Cayenne Electric pumps out 402bhp from its four-wheel-drive setup in everyday driving mode, but activate Launch Control and that output increases to 436bhp, allowing for a 0-62mph sprint in 4.8sec. For reference, that's marginally quicker than the entry-level BMW iX, and it's on par with the dual-motor Polestar 3.

Both the regular Cayenne Electric and Cayenne Turbo Electric come equipped with adaptive air suspension, while the Turbo has torque vectoring capabilities. That means power can be sent individually to each wheel, allowing for improved grip.

To help get across the sensation of speed – in case being pinned back in your seat hasn’t done the trick – there’s the option to have a synthesised engine burble pumped into the car, which we suspect you’ll either love or hate.

On the other hand, the battery should be less divisive. This will deliver a maximum charging rate of up to 390kW and put the Cayenne Electric up there with the fastest-charging cars on the market. By comparison, the BMW iX maxes out at 195kW and the Maserati Grecale Folgore just 150kW, although the Polestar 3 isn’t far behind on 250kW and the Lotus Eletre can cope with 350kW.

Those speeds promise a 10-80% top-up of the Cayenne Electric's battery in less than 16 minutes – but that's if you can find a public charger fast enough. At home, though, the Cayenne Electric has the ability to inductive charge with Porsche's wireless charging pad, which will be available as an option upon purchase.

The fact that the Cayenne Electric is longer than the Macan allows Porsche to give the former an even bigger battery than the latter, with a capacity of 113kWh. That allows the Cayenne Electric to travel an official 398 miles, but if you opt for the Turbo, that figure drops slightly to 387 miles. Still, it's further than the Lotus Eletre's maximum range of 373 miles – but the BMW iX can officially manage up to 426 miles.

Perhaps the most surprising number associated with the Cayenne Electric, though, is 3.5 tonnes. No, that’s not how much it weighs (although it obviously won’t be light) but how much it can tow. Or, to put it another way, it’s a match for a diesel Range Rover in this regard, whereas even the biggest electric cars are typically limited to around 2500kg.

As you might have expected, the Cayenne Electric's looks don't stray too far from its combustion-engined twin, but it does receive rectangular headlights reminiscent of the Macan Electric’s. At the rear, there's a thin LED strip running across the width.

Inside, the new Cayenne Electric receives the largest configuration of screens fitted to any Porsche model so far. Dubbed the 'Flow Display', it comprises a curved central touchscreen with upper and lower portions, alongside a 14.25in digital instrument cluster and a 14.9in passenger display (optional on entry-level models; standard with higher trims). The latter allows you to stream videos and use apps, as in the Macan Electric. In that car, the screen is tinted so it can't distract the driver.

Physical buttons feature below the central display and on the steering wheel for more common functions like climate and audio. There's also the option of a head-up display that projects augmented-reality information over a huge area of the windscreen in the driver's eyeline, avoiding the need for them to take their eyes off the road.

With 781 litres of boot space, the Cayenne Electric is more practical than the Audi Q8 e-tron, Lotus Eletre and, surprisingly, the petrol Cayenne, despite its large battery. There's also a 90-litre "frunk" under the bonnet that should be ideal for storing charging cables.

Instead of having trims to choose from, the Cayenne Electric will be highly customisable, with 13 different exterior colours, nine wheel designs ranging from 20 to 22 inches and a number of additional packages as options.

What the Cayenne Electric won’t immediately do is replace the petrol and hybrid-powered versions of the Cayenne that are currently available; instead, these will be offered alongside it for years to come. Plus, later there will be a sleeker, Coupé version of the Cayenne Electric sold alongside its combustion equivalent.

You can have a six-cylinder petrol Cayenne for £77,500, whereas the electric model costs just a few thousand pounds more, at £83,200. That’s yet another big number even before you consider that the iX costs from £75,405 and the Polestar 3 from £69,910, although it is less than the £90,815 Lotus wants for the most affordable Eletre.

For the Cayenne Electric Turbo, you'll need to fork out a hefty premium, since it starts at £130,900.

Orders are open now, and the first customer deliveries are due in mid-2026.

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