Although I only drove less than two laps, I couldn't even recover a little memory of the long-lost Zhuhai circuit, and my Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT test drive was over, but that feeling was still excellent...
At the Guangzhou Motor Show, Porsche unveiled the ultimate Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT priced at 2,438,000 yuan. This Zhuhai test drive can be described as seamless.
Basic parameters of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
Body: SUV, length 4942mm, width 1995mm, height 1636mm, wheelbase 2895mm, luggage compartment volume 549-1464L
Engine: 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo, maximum power 471kW (640Ps), peak torque 850 Nm/2300-3500 rpm
Drivetrain: 8-speed Tiptronic S, front-mounted 4WD
Chassis: Front and rear multi-link, electronic power steering, tire size: front 285/35 ZR22 rear 315/30 ZR22
Driving performance: 3.3s acceleration per 100 km/h, maximum speed of 300 km/h
Price: 2.438 million yuan
However, the epidemic has localized international test drives, and the limitation brought by the epidemic is that all Chinese media can queue up to experience a car, only on a closed track, each person can only drive two laps, or two laps from the maintenance area to the maintenance area, which means that the big straight road at the starting and ending points can only run once in its entirety. Strictly speaking, I just ran one lap in its entirety, and the other lap was in and out of the pit lane and a little bit familiar with the track, warming up.
Fortunately, people are a species of comparison, and under the epidemic, it is already an "unparalleled" experience to be able to test drive a top performance car like this. This is currently the fastest SUV in the world, just setting a lap speed record for a mass-produced SUV in the Nürburgring Nordwest. The Zhuhai circuit test drive also comes with a big gimmick, which is to set a new Zhuhai track mass production SUV fastest lap record. It was simply too easy, about four hours, three attempts, each time breaking the record, and finally locked at 1 minute 47 seconds 117.
There are only two Turbo GT on the grounds, one for media test drives and one for lap times. Although it is a mass production car category, when brushing lap speeds, it still has to meet safety requirements. Since there are no such rules in China, Porsche must install roll-off brackets according to the rules of the Nürburgring North Ring, and the seats must be professional seats for competition. This required removing the regular rear and front seats and sawing off some parts on the doors.
After some disassembly, the weight of the car has basically not changed, but the rigidity of the body is obviously greatly enhanced. "This is the standard that all production cars that have a lap record in the North Loop must follow." Dai Rio, senior manager for single-brand events at Porsche Asia Pacific, said. All parts that do not conflict with the safety device are retained, and the rest of the car remains in its original form, especially the tires, brakes, suspension, aerodynamic parts, etc., and are not changed. "Is the fuel tank full?" I got the expected answer – "We only add just enough oil to the tank." Derio laughed and said, "It's in accordance with the rules. ”
"Is this the Ultimate Performance Cayenne?"
"Yes"
"Can you still have GT RS?"
"Theoretically, but RS is now limited to sports cars, SUV hasn't been."
This is my subsequent conversation with Derio. Indeed, the RS is almost a road version of racing, not a normal road car, at least to leave an exclusive "tip" for Porsche's tradition , the sports car .
The Cayenne Turbo GT has a coupe body, which is very discreet in appearance, and there is no flamboyant pendant, only one at the end of the roof, and the tail wing with end panels makes it look a little special. It has the upper edge of the rear windshield and works with the sharp carbon fiber wings on the lower edge. When more downforce is required, the movable wing plate supporting the fin protrudes, creating a more three-dimensional tail combination.
The GT at the bottom of the rear is characterized by a double exhaust throat located in the middle, the main body is titanium alloy with decorative blue. The tail section of this exhaust system uses titanium alloy to reduce weight. The roof does not have a sunroof, but a whole piece of carbon fiber, also to reduce weight. Even so, the Turbo GT still gained 25 kilograms, mainly from chassis reinforcement and hardware lifting in response to performance upgrades.
The large diameter carbon-ceramic floating brake discs and the front 10 rear 4-piston brake calipers swear their control in bright yellow through the gold forged rims - to make the 641 horsepower 850 Nm power-enabled 3.3 seconds 100 km/h acceleration and 300+ km/h extreme speed "receptive" and "release" as easy as possible.
The shape of the Turbo GT head has hardly changed, but the "middle net" can no longer be called a "net", only a simple horizontal and vertical grid support. However, the main loose water tank is not visible when it is static, and it is closed by a blind. This is to allow the engine to reach the optimal operating temperature as soon as possible during cold start.
The Otilan materials all over the car are a common feature of sports models, in addition to some machine-embroidered words and logos, the interior of the Turbo GT is more standardized than the exterior. In an era when everything can be set and adjusted electronically, when it comes to meeting performance requirements, human-operated mechanisms really no longer need to be specialized. The grip of the steering wheel will still give people a different sense of movement. The Otilan-wrapped rings are hard and firm, and the lean style of the Porsche steering wheel reminds me of skinny gold calligraphy.
Two laps, less than 5 minutes, what can you feel? Powerful acceleration? It's not so violent, even in S+ mode. Because the track is wide, the straights are long, and the speed is always high. I felt more smooth, like silk passing through the mouth of a tiger in the palm of my hand.
The only test drive was under dozens of people taking turns, and the powerful brakes were still efficient, but my feet felt that I had a soft state here, and I was always able to properly control the speed at every corner. I barely felt the sway of the body, even in the hairpin bend. The 48-volt system-supported active stabilizer bar and rear-wheel assisted steering made me chagrin when I drove back to the P room that my car felt too slow, complaining that the number of laps was too little, anyway, it was not addictive.
"People are not satisfied, they have to look forward to Shu", both those who build cars and those who buy cars, so Cayenne has Turbo GT after Turbo. 2.438 million yuan, there will not be many people with this ability to "look forward to Shu", and the media people who have this opportunity to drive it two laps on the Zhuhai circuit can at least count as "Delong", right?
The author of this article is Xia Dong, a kick car gang