Porsche is targeting an Italian relative with an extra-hot version of its biggest SUV.

WITH exception of the 911, it seems every car Porsche produces is set to wean off hydrocarbons and embrace electrification.

At same token, it seems the largest in the family isn’t set to go quietly. 

How do you like the sound of a Cayenne Coupe running the mighty 4.0-litre twin-turbo engine currently restricted to the Cayenne Turbo, but cranked up to north of 470kW?

Porsche says the new model, which it has just unveiled with a media blitz including the video seen here, “has been designed and developed even more single-mindedly to provide the ultimate in terms of longitudinal and lateral dynamics.”

Translation: The derivative that as yet has no official name – though the big money is on it being badged the GT - will be the fastest and most dynamically focused of all Cayennes and, as such, the one you’ll be least daunted about driving really fast on a race track. 

Being that gives it opportunity to wrest, from another car in the VW Group family that runs the same underpinning, a particular title that has some degree of credibility in some circles: World’s fastest SUV. That’s presently the Lamborghini Urus.

To outdo the Urus, the new uber-Cayenne has been treated to a huge level of in-house re-engineering effort.

Porsche has massively updated the suspension and electronic assistance systems, including the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) active roll stabilisation system, which uses 48-volt electrically activated anti-roll bars to keep the car steady and level through corners. These roll bars can 'relax' when the car is travelling in a straight-line so as to offer better ride comfort.

According to Porsche test driver Lars Kern, who has accompanied development of the high-performance model right from the start, the Cayenne's handling is also improved by its massively revamped front suspension: "Compared with the Cayenne Turbo Coupé, the front rims are now half an inch wider, and negative camber has been increased by 0.45 degrees in order to provide a larger contact area for the 22-inch sports tyres newly developed especially for this model."

Kern isn't the car's only test driver - Porsche ambassador, World Rally Champion and ‘Driving God’ Walter Rohrl has also been behind the wheel of the new mega-Cayenne on the famed Hockenheim race track.

He reckons it’s a good ‘un.

“A great leap forward compared to everything that has gone before. This car redefines the meaning of the term SUV. The car remains incredibly stable even in fast corners, and its turn-in behaviour is extremely precise. More than ever, you have the feeling that you are sitting in a compact sports car rather than in a large SUV.”

Porsche NZ has yet to offer any comment on the car, which is expected to be revealed as a member of the updated Cayenne line-up at the end of June, ahead of planned right-hand-drive deliveries later this year.