2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe
The 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe is of course based on the 3rd generation Cayenne SUV that debuted 2-years ago; and is positioned as its sportier cousin for those with somewhat fewer family needs.
The 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS coupe’s twin-turbo V-8 makes it feel powerful and fast. Its’ massive exhaust pipes make it sound cool.
The run to 60 mph for the 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe takes a quoted 4.2 seconds for versions fitted with the Sport Chrono package (standard on the GTS), which includes launch control, a more relaxed Sport stability control setting, a dash-mounted stopwatch timer, and a steering-wheel-mounted drive mode selector with normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual settings.
Porsche’s other GTS models are embellished with black exterior accents, and the Cayennes are no different.
Inside, you’ll find standard dark brushed-aluminum trim and a sprinkling of GTS logos, as well as microsuede for the seat inserts, headliner, center console armrest, and door panels.
2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe Specs
The Porsche-developed 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, which is shared with the Panamera GTS, generates 453 hp (338 kW) and 457 lb-ft of torque.
Mated to a standard eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission and Porsche Traction Management all-wheel drive, the new models are capable of reaching 60 mph in 4.5 seconds or 4.2 seconds using Performance Start, which is included in the optional Sport Chrono Package (standard on Coupe).
Those acceleration times mark an improvement of 0.4 seconds and 0.6 seconds respectively as compared to the 0-60 mph sprint of the preceding Cayenne GTS.
The 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe has a top track speed of 168 mph.
2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe Cornering
The 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe is nimble, instantly responsive, and feels like driving around a jacked-up 911-hatchback.
Okay, not quite, but it performs better than any SUV needs to.
The Cayenne GTS Coupe enhances the Cayenne’s cornering talents by sitting lower on its haunches.
Porsche says the United States-market GTS models on their standard adjustable air springs ride 1.2 inches lower than standard steel-spring Cayenne S models.
Porsche’s adaptive PASM dampers and PTV Plus torque-vectoring system are standard, as are big cast-iron brake rotors—15.4-inchers with six-piston calipers in front and 14.1-inchers with four-piston calipers at the rear.
The 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe features Cayenne’s 48-volt active anti-roll bars and rear-axle steering with variable Power Steering Plus, which combine to significantly enhance both low-speed maneuverability and high-speed stability.
The GTS Coupe is still a hulking thing, and approaching its roughly 1.00 g or more of cornering grip on a back road is almost impossible. But its agility is uncanny for an SUV.
Body control is exemplary even when being tossed through quick transitions with abandon.
Active Sports Exhaust
What is unique to the 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe, and particularly the coupe version, is a new standard active sport exhaust system that uncorks the 4.0-liter through two darkened tailpipes at each corner of the rear bumper.
You can up the sound level further on the GTS coupe if you’re willing to splurge on one of its Lightweight packages.
Turn the vestigial key nub to the left of the steering wheel, and the 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe settles into a deep rumble that transitions to a tempered growl in casual driving.
Select Sport or Sport Plus mode and a brassy roar permeates the area.
2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe Sport Response
SPORT Response Button
In addition to being able to choose your preferred driving mode, the mode selector knob on the steering wheel features a button in the middle that engages ‘SPORT Response’.
This feature primes the engine and transmission for a surge of power and responsiveness for 20 seconds.
If you need to overtake someone and want a little boost, press this button for maximum performance.
2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe 21″ Wheels
21-inch wheels are standard and the suspension is lowered and fitted with standard active dampers and a torque-vectoring system that’s optional on all other Cayenne models, including the Turbo. Black is the decor of choice: The wheels are black, the front and rear lights are dark-tinted, and so are most logos
But the standard stoppers, 15.3-inch discs with red six-piston calipers up front and 14.1-inch rotors with four-piston binders in back, are more than up to the job of slowing the 5,000-pound Cayenne GTS.
And once at an appropriate speed – which is far higher than you’d think – the GTS can assault corners in a way vehicles weighing 1,000 pounds less could only dream of.
Turn-in, aided by a lower center of gravity and our tester’s carbon-fiber roof (another Lightweight Sport pack feature), is immediate with the GTS Coupe seemingly taking a bite out of the road.
Once in the corner, PDCC does its thing and delivers a flat, balanced character.
The Cayenne accepts throttle in the turns better than you’d expect, while the standard Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus and the optional rear-wheel steering system curb the worst urges to understeer.
