Coming Soon: The New 2011 Porsche Cayenne!

Over the weekend of May 7-9, our GM Jim Clark attended a Porsche event in Leipzig, Germany. It was a quick but exciting, event-filled trip, during which the 2011 Porsche Cayenne was revealed!

Jim left for Germany at 4:30pm on Thursday, May 6, and arrived at 2pm on Friday via Dusseldorf. He reached his hotel room to find one of the weirdest goodie bags ever created; it was filled with a coat, shirt, stocking hat, scarf, LED light to mount on your head, Wellington rubber boots, and a letter instructing the attendees to wear each of those items that night. (Wonder if Jim got any pictures…!)

Well, it wasn’t long before they figured out what this was all for—they ended up on a scavenger hunt while walking through a cow pasture. Thank you, Porsche, for thinking ahead and providing boots. The hunt directed everyone to the far end of the local racetrack as they migrated across a field following a Porsche to the Point, or as they call it, the “diamond.” Everyone gathered in bleacher seats as the main presentation finally began!

“The new Cayenne looks even sexier than before,” says Jim, “with re-sculpted body lines that make the vehicle look smaller even though it is larger.” For the first time, it is offered in a pretty yellow. After the initial presentation, the attendees were allowed a look inside. The interior console is new and the features more closely resemble the new Panamera.

Day One ended with dinner and speeches from the current CEO Michael Macht as well as the current leader of Marketing and Sales, Bernhard Maier. They all returned to their hotel rooms at 2am, but Porsche had arranged for a 6:30am wake-up call! The attendees would have breakfast and be on a bus by 7:30.

Porsche directed a little test on Day 2 “to make sure we were paying attention,” Jim mentioned—a tech session competition between 15 groups. The reward for completing the session (which of course included everyone!) was a factory tour where they saw the new 2011 Cayennes and Panameras being assembled, the same vehicles that we will be receiving in about 3 months!

After that, it was time to drive and experience the new cars first-hand. Everyone was paired up and given new Cayennes to drive—on the Autobahn! “It is amazing how nice this sport utility rides at 220km/hr,” Jim says. For those of you playing along at home, that’s 136mph without risking a speeding ticket.

Lunch that day was followed by yet another driving excursion back on the racetrack. This time they drove Cayenne Turbos on a track that includes corners from tracks all over the world. Jim claims he was adept at all but one tight s-turn called the Mobil S. (So he says, but I suppose we’ll take his word for it. He is the GM, after all…) Jim’s partner, though, was able to handle the Mobil S. “He put the whole truck into a side slide, all the time knowing this truck could handle it,” he says.

The last adventure was off-track four-wheeling which included a side hill drive at 30-degrees and “hill-climb testing the new hill assist feature on an 80-degree grade climb.”

The night was capped off with a reception, dinner, and entertainment. Jim was able to visit with other Porsche enthusiasts from other dealerships across the world, including the USA, Canada, Australia, and Japan.

And he says the food was phenomenal, by the way.

Finally, it was time to start the long journey home. The trip was made even longer by a 2½-hour delay in Dusseldorf due to the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano that is still erupting. A flight eventually took Jim and the other passengers north of Iceland and into Greenland. “The sky was clear and the view of the ice flows and snow in Greenland was spectacular.”

It may have been a fast trip into a different time zone, but the experiences and the vehicle were well worth it! Just 3 months and you’ll be able to get your own hands on it. Keep in touch with us for the ultimate reveal of the 2011 Porsche Cayennes here at Concours!