Author: autoview

Porsche is adding yet another highlight to the Company’s wide range of customer sports activities: the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia based on the new Porsche Cayenne S and serving as the perfect vehicle especially for long-distance rallies. This ultra-sporting offroader is making its debut in the Transsyberia Rally taking contestants from Moscow all the way though Siberia to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia from 2-17 August.

The Porsche Cayenne is well-known and admired for its outstanding onroad qualities in the SUV segment. Now the second generation, which is making its debut at Porsche Centers the world over at this very moment, moves up this benchmark to an even higher standard.

The new power units with direct gasoline injection, for example, provide even more power and performance on less fuel, cutting fuel consumption by up to 15 per cent versus the former models. Another highlight is Porsche’s new PDDC Dynamic Chassis Control featuring two active anti-roll bars to almost completely eliminate body sway in bends. Off the beaten track, the new Cayennes are naturally also on home ground, maximum axle articulation ensured by PDDC when driving offroad serving to further improve the already superior traction offered by the electronically controlled all-wheel drive.

Last year two private teams participated in the Transsyberia Rally for the first time with the Porsche Cayenne S, finishing first and second in their very first attempt. Attracted by the successful participation of these two cars, Porsche has obviously become aware of the event and, in response, now offers the dyed-in-the-wool Cayenne driver the option to enter motorsport successfully with this outstanding model.

To ensure such superiority in motorsport, Porsche has enhanced the already very good offroad qualities of the Cayenne to an even higher standard, developing a special model suited particularly for successful participation in long-distance rallies. Precisely this is why the new Cayenne S Transsyberia being built from the beginning in a small series of just 26 units comes, inter alia, with extra-rough special offroad tyres, a safety cage, a shorter final drive ratio, a transverse lock, a reinforced, even larger underfloor cover, as well as beefed-up track control arms on the front axle. At 385 bhp (283 kW), engine output of the eight-cylinder remains unchanged.

Now sporting, ambitious Porsche customers will be participating at the wheel of a Cayenne S Transsyberia in one of the last adventures in the world on four wheels – the Transsyberia Rally. From 2-17 August, they will be following the route of this very demanding orientation rally from Moscow all the way through Siberia to the finish line in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

In all, they will be covering almost 6,200 kilometres or 3,850 miles on public roads, gravel tracks and the toughest trial paths, even crossing rivers and taking special tests in the Gobi Desert. And while navigation is perhaps the biggest challenge on the long stages of the Rally, it is particularly the driver’s personal skill and, of course, the qualities of the car that count in the special trials on tracks closed to the public.

Twenty-Six Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberias for a Start

With its intelligent all-wheel drive, high-performance and efficient V8 direct injection power unit, as well as height-adjustable air suspension including Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), the Porsche Cayenne S is perfectly prepared for even the toughest roads and tracks.

Proceeding from the Cayenne S, Porsche’s specialists have built a small series of special models at the Company’s Development Center in Weissach near Stuttgart optimised especially for the demands of even the toughest long-distance rally: the Cayenne S Transsyberia. So following the outstanding success of the two Cayenne Teams last year, no less than 26 customer teams from all over the world are now entering the Rally with this special rallying version of the Cayenne S. Clearly, this will give the Porsche Cayenne the opportunity under extreme conditions to prove its supreme potential in driving dynamics versus the keenest competition.

The Transsyberia Rally is split up into six categories of vehicles, with the Cayenne S Transsyberia featuring a 4.8-litre V8 entering the race in Class 1C for gasoline-powered passenger cars with engine capacity of more than four litres.

Porsche Customer Sport

This long-distance rally racing activity with the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia forms an additional highlight in the wide range of customer sport. The broad foundation in this area is provided by Porsche’s Sports Driving Schools, Porsche Clubsport, as well as popular brand racing series such as the Porsche Sports Cup in Germany where various versions of the 911 Carrera, mainly top sports performers such as the 911 GT3 and 911 GT3 RS, prove their sporting qualities.

Moving up a level, Porsche offers ambitious amateurs entering the GT3 Cup Challenges in the USA, Brazil and New Zealand the opportunity to enjoy the thrill of motorsport in a racing car closely related to its production counterpart, the 911 GT3 Cup. The next step is the Carrera Cups in Asia, Australia, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Scandinavia, where semi-professional and professional teams and drivers show their skills, again driving the 400-bhp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

The top series and, at the same time, the fastest brand trophy in the world is the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, the only Gran Turismo racing series to be held exclusively on the occasion of various races for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Again, the exclusive model raced at these events is the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

For years, many customers have placed their confidence in the both fast and reliable Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and 911 GT3 RSR when participating in internationally renowned long-distance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, the various races in the American Le Mans Series, as well as the Le Mans Series or the FIA GT Series.

The RS Spyder sports prototype comes right at the top of Porsche’s customer sports programme, with three teams scheduled to enter the current season in the middle of the year, racing a total of six of these 1.25 million-Euro expensive high-tech prototypes in the LM P2 class of the American Le Mans Series.

The Sporting All-Round Performer

The Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia is a typical Porsche through and through, tailored precisely to the needs and requirements of the sporting, ambitious customer – which in this case means a car tailored specifically to the requirements of long-distance rally racing. Compared with the “regular” version of the Cayenne S, the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia as a special rally version has been modified on a number of points serving first and foremost to enhance safety and the car’s racing performance.

Production Engine, Shorter Transmission Ratio

The power unit of the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia has been carried over from the regular road version of the Cayenne S with hardly any changes: Output of this 4.8-litre naturalaspiration V8 with direct gasoline injection remains 385 bhp (283 kW) at 6200 rpm. Maximum torque of 500 Newton-metres or 369 lb-ft, in turn, comes at just 3500 rpm.

VarioCam Plus valve management ensures a smooth and consistent surge of power throughout the entire speed range, with engine management varying valve lift on the intake side between 3.6 and 10 millimetres as a function of engine speed. And with the intake manifold also being variable in length, the engine provides muscular torque right from the start even at low engine speeds. Despite the increase in power over the previous engine, the new 4.8- litre reduces fuel consumption by approximately 15 per cent, giving the Cayenne S a significantly longer cruising range than before – obviously a big advantage particularly in a long-distance rally. Automatically detecting the quality of the fuel it is running on, the engine is also able to run on regular fuel with an octane rating of 91 or more, even though this will reduce both engine output and torque. In fact, the engine is also able to run on a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, with up to 25 per cent of the latter. A sports exhaust system reduced for minimum weight gives the Cayenne S Transsyberia a particularly powerful and muscular sound, while Tiptronic S transmission with a shorter final drive ratio helps to ensure even better acceleration both from the start and in gears. And last but not least, the transmission management has been optimised for offroad use of the vehicle.

Even Better off the Beaten Track

Like all other models in the Cayenne range, the Cayenne S Transsyberia also comes with Porsche Traction Management (PTM) permanent all-wheel drive. In its basic mode, PTM feeds 62 per cent of the engine’s torque to the rear wheels and 38 per cent to the front.

Then a multiple-plate clutch operated by an electric motor and controlled electronically is able to vary the distribution of power as a function of driving conditions, if necessary feeding as much as 100 per cent of the engine’s power completely to the front or rear. The map-controlled longitudinal lock and the differential lock on the rear axle respond not only to lack of traction on the front or rear wheels, but also benefit from sensors measuring the speed of the vehicle, its lateral acceleration, the steering angle and the position of the accelerator pedal. Using this information, PTM is able to consistently calculate the degree of lock required on the two axles and feed precisely the power required to the axle at the front and rear.

A transverse lock fitted additionally in the Cayenne S Transsyberia serves to enhance offroad driving qualities to an even higher standard (and is also available in the regular production model as part of the optional Offroad Technology Package). Particularly in heavy terrain, PDDC Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, interacting with air suspension and PASM Porsche Active Suspension Management, enhances traction to an even higher standard.

And should the driver activate the low-range mode on the six-speed automatic transmission by means of the control paddle, PDCC will automatically switch over to the offroad mode, the system thus allowing maximum articulation of the axles. In the Special Offroad Mode provided by the air suspension, the maximum depth when crossing rivers and streams, etc, is approximately 75 centimetres or almost 30″. To make such an extreme depth possible, both the body and the doors are sealed off against the penetration of water all the way up to the side windows. And using a flexible air filter snorkel, the air intake has been moved up even further to the roof of the vehicle, ensuring that the front wave typical when crossing water is not able to reach, let alone enter, the intake manifold.

The wheels and suspension of the Cayenne have naturally also been modified for the most extreme, long-term demands of rough tracks and rocky surfaces. As an example, the doublearm front axle comes with reinforced track control arms, with track itself being increased by 34 millimetres or 1.34″ for extra stability.

The usual high-speed tyres fitted on the regular model are replaced by special offroad tyres measuring 255/55 R 18 T and homologated for speeds of up to 190 km/h or 118 mph. The tyres themselves are fitted on 18-inch, 15-spoke Cayenne S II light-alloy wheels and the rim hubs are finished in orange, like on the Porsche GT3RS.

Massive Safety Cell within the Interior

It is already well known that the Porsche Cayenne ranks right at the top in the offroader market also in terms of body stiffness and passive safety – which is no surprise, considering that more than 60 per cent of the body-in-white is made of high-strength steel. Forces generated in an accident are absorbed by three load levels above one another and fed into the stiff longitudinal floor support, the side-sills and tunnel areas. The reinforcements in the A- and B-pillars, in turn, are made of ultra-high-strength steel to improve safety in a rollover.

And to offer both the driver and passenger even better protection from the consequences of a collision or rollover under racing conditions, the Cayenne S Transsyberia comes with a safety cage bolted on to the passenger cell. Indeed, this cage even follows the rules and requirements of the FIA Motorsport Authority, with the driver also being protected by an airbag for extra safety.

Optimised for Minimum Weight All Round

To set off the extra weight of the safety cage and rally equipment, and to further lower the vehicle’s centre of gravity, the rear seat bench, interior body panels and sound-proofing material have all been removed from the car. Central locking, in turn, is replaced by a manual door opening mechanism on the front doors with orange-coloured opening and closing loops.

Both the rear window and the side windows at the rear are made of light polycarbonate, while the side windows at the front, as on all Cayenne models, feature special hydrophobic treatment at the outside to make water run off more quickly and smoothly and ensuring that the glass remains far cleaner for far longer than with conventional windows. As another important advantage, both the driver and front passenger enjoy the benefits of lightweight sports seats with a leatherette/Alcantara cover.

Sporting Exterior

The new models in the Cayenne range are even more sporting and dynamic also in their looks than their predecessors. And so it is no surprise that the Cayenne S Transsyberia comes with the same brand-new front end as well as the dynamic rear-end design of the new model enhanced to an even higher standard, extra-large air intake scoops bearing clear testimony to the car’s superior power and performance. On the tailgate the Cayenne S Transsyberia boasts a roof spoiler with a double-wing profile fitted in position to provide even greater stability at high speeds.

The front and rear air dams, in turn, are finished in stainless steel, and orange-coloured wheels give the Cayenne S Transsyberia a sporting look, making the vehicle easily recognisable at very first sight. At the side this special rally model proudly boasts orange-coloured stripes bearing the name “Cayenne S Transsyberia 2007″ in a look similar to that of the Porsche Carrera GT3 RS.

The Cayenne S Transsyberia is available exclusively in two special colour schemes – either Basalt Black Metallic or Crystal Silver Metallic. And matching the model designation at the sides as well as the wheel rims, contrasting elements such as the exterior mirrors, the rear wing, the additional headlights and crossbars on the cooling air intakes are all finished in orange.

Wide Range of Rally Equipment

All 26 units of the Cayenne S Transsyberia come as standard with a navigation unit enabling the team to plan their routes also off the beaten track, with the navigation system naturally being masterminded by the passenger for optimum efficiency. The glove compartment is replaced on this special model by a Tripmaster computer enabling the co-pilot to exactly scrutinize the route between individual navigation points on the way. Most of the control units are fitted within the interior, and all electric lines and wires have been installed at new points and in new positions. Using a central switch at the right beneath the driver’s seat, the man at the wheel or the co-driver are able to switch the on-board electrics on and off in one quick and convenient operation, thus re-setting the electronic system if necessary even while driving.

Air for the engine is drawn in through a special opening above the engine compartment lid, a snorkel serving to move the air intake up even higher all the way to roof level, thus ensuring that the front wave generated when crossing rivers or streams, etc, is not able to enter the intake manifold. Reinforced and extra-large underfloor protection panels made of aluminium and an additional cover made of stainless steel for the exhaust tailpipes protect the Cayenne S Transsyberia from the particular damage and exposure easily encountered on a rally with its extremely tough conditions.

The regular foot-operated parking brake is replaced by a handbrake enabling the driver to oversteer the vehicle intentionally in a tight bend. Four additional headlights are fitted on the roof, and to successfully master particularly difficult and demanding terrain, as well as to salvage other vehicles, the Cayenne S Transsyberia comes with a winch easy to fit when necessary and stored for convenient use in the luggage compartment.

The luggage compartment also comes with two 20-litre reserve cans, a hydraulic offroad car jack, two fire extinguishers, two sand boards, two full-size spare wheels, and two transport boxes for tools. Further features included as standard are two two-man tents, two heat-insulated mats, four lashing belts, a nine-metre-long salvage belt complete with tackle, a folding spade, a folding saw, an axe, a manually operated and adjustable headlight, four towing bar openings and a complete Hazet toolkit.