If you missed the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom, which is wrapping up this weekend, we share your pain, because this is one of the globe’s great motoring heritage event. Most of its involves a galaxy of competition cars from the past, representing just about every discipline of motorsport, assaulting the 1.86-kilometer driveway – really, that’s what it is – that runs up the hill at Lord March’s historic estate in Merrie Olde, with an upgrade that nearly touches 5 percent. It’s a spectacle, a reverent celebration of all things racing, which predictably also attracts a clutch of automakers eager to demonstrate their go-fast products in a very public and cheerful way. Porsche is always one of them.
Stuttgart brought a whole lot of stuff, both new and historic, to Goodwood. Among the production vehicles, the star was arguably a new extreme-performance offering, the Cayenne Turbo GT, which led the hillclimb charge. Based on the coupe-configuration Cayenne, the Turbo GT, so named for the twin turbochargers boosting its 4.0-liter V-8 to a claimed 631 horsepower, is based on the prototype that recently set an unofficial lap record for SUVs on the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring. Among the chassis-tuning advances are an overall ride height that’s 14mm lower than other Cayenne models, active anti-roll technology and all-wheel steering. Porsche is beginning to accept orders now for September delivery, with an advertised top end of 186 MPH and an anticipated MSRP of $180,800.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 