Does a Porsche have to be low-slung?

From its first car, the 356 of 1948, to the Boxster, every car Porsche made was a sports car with a low body. The rear seats were cramped or missing altogether, so four adults could hardly ride together. After losses in the early 1990s, the Boxster let Porsche catch its breath, but market research said that selling only sports cars would lead downhill again.

In the mid-1990s, the sales team in the United States proposed building an SUV. SUVs were at the height of their popularity in the United States, Porsche's largest market. A tall, heavy SUV carries five people and drives on dirt roads. It looked nothing like the low sports cars Porsche built. Even so, Porsche decided to build an SUV for the first time.

When the plan became known in 1998, Porsche clubs and longtime 911 fans shook their heads. Inside the company, too, there was plenty of doubt, from the assembly line to department heads. A question followed it: could an SUV be a Porsche?

Development was handled by 300 engineers in an unmarked building in Hemmingen. They learned what an SUV needs by taking turns driving other companies' SUVs. The engine was built new, and the chassis was tuned by Porsche's own hands. Testing went on in the sand dunes of Dubai and on the snowy roads of Sweden. The standard the development team set was to drive like a Porsche.

In September 2002, the first five-seat Porsche, the Cayenne, was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. The fastest version, the Cayenne Turbo, reached a top speed of 266 km/h. The company says it was a message to its sports car customers. Porsche expected 25,000 a year, but the first generation sold close to 35,000 a year on average.

Bentley unveiled an SUV in 2015, and Lamborghini in 2017. Rolls-Royce followed in 2018, and Aston Martin in 2019. Porsche says the Cayenne changed the SUV market significantly. Through it all, the 911 remained a low sports car.

Worth adding: the Cayenne was developed together with Volkswagen and shared its platform with the Volkswagen Touareg. Porsche separately tuned the engine and chassis built on top of it.

What Porsche had to keep was how it drives, more than a low-slung shape.
If a car drives like a Porsche, an SUV can be a Porsche too.