Porsche does not build many cars like the Porsche Cayenne: a 5-door crossover SUV with Petrol engine, built from 2002 in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Its designer of record is Steve Murkett / Michael Mauer (facelift).
Where it came from
The Porsche Cayenne is a series of automobiles manufactured by the German company Porsche since 2002. It is an E-segment luxury crossover SUV, and has been described as both a full-size and a mid-size vehicle. The first generation was known within Porsche as the Type 9PA (955/957) or E1. It was the first V8-engined vehicle built by Porsche since 1995, when the Porsche 928 was discontinued. It is also Porsche's first off-road vehicle since its Super and Junior tractors of the 1950s, as well as the first production Porsche with four doors. Since 2014, the Cayenne has been sold alongside a smaller Porsche SUV, the Macan. The second-generation Cayenne (Type 92A or E2) was unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March. The Cayenne shares its platform, body frame, doors, and electronics with the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7, and to some extent with the Lamborghini Urus and Bentley Bentayga. It received a facelift in 2014 with minor external changes, and introduced a new plug-in E-Hybrid version with its public launch at the Paris Motor Show. Since 2008, all combustion engines in the Cayenne range have featured direct injection technology. The third generation (Type 9YA or E3) was unveiled in August 2017 in Stuttgart, Germany, and received a mid-cycle refresh in 2023.
The Cayenne has been Porsche's best-selling model since the fourth generation of the Macan transitioned to electric-only in many markets, with global deliveries reaching 102,889 units in 2024, an 18% increase over 2023. The fourth generation (Type X1A/X1B or E4), unveiled in November 2025 and entering production
Under the skin
Under the skin sits Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. The gearbox is a 6-speed Aisin/VW TR-60SN/09D automatic (Tiptronic S) / 6-speed manual (VR6, S and GTS). The layout matters: drive goes to all four wheels, which is what lets the power be used on a wet road. The wheelbase is 2855 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Porsche's history is not in doubt: it was built at Bratislava. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Honda Accord, the Volvo XC90, the Citroën C3. Nearby in the Porsche catalogue sit the Porsche P1 and the Porsche Type 12.
The money
On the used market today a Porsche Cayenne typically changes hands for $10,000–$49,100, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $4,355–$7,478 a year. Insurance sits around $1,300–$2,930 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.