Cayenne adds SUV spice to Porsche’s sports car heritage
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Porsche. The name is magic, whether you pronounce it “PORSH,†like the sound of air rushing out of a confined area, or the more correct “POR-sha,†in the best two-syllable German tradition, the name connotes high-speed sports cars, built in limited numbers, at steep prices, but with uncompromising racing heritage radiating from every square inch.
So, Porsche is going to make an SUV, eh?
The reaction ranged from shock, dismay and consternation throughout the automotive world when the idea was first suggested. What could possibly motivate Porsche to build a sport-utility vehicle? IsnÂ’t that the ultimate compromise?
After assorted engineers and technicians explained the many facets of the new Porsche Cayenne, Tim Mahoney addressed the automotive journalists assembled in Birmingham, Ala., for the new vehicle’s introduction, and beat the media to the punch by asking himself those same questions. His answer was refreshingly simple: “To make money,†he said.
“We proudly refer to ourself as the smallest manufacturer making cars for the whole world, but sports cars reflect the ups and downs of the economy more than any other cars. SUVs have a much larger cross-section of the demand curve, and making an SUV gives us more stability and assures our independence. You will see, also, that the Cayenne is authentic, and stays within PorscheÂ’s heritage.Ââ€
While the Boxster gives Porsche a reasonably priced sports car, the Stuttgart, Germany, company is best known for the 911 – the venerable Carrera sports cars that have dominated world endurance and road racing and directly translate that heritage to the street. It is easy to pay over $75,000 for a Carrera, and well over $100,000 for the turbocharged versions. So it is no surprise that the Cayenne is going to cost a lot. But it’s still a jolt to see the sticker prices: The Cayenne S starts at $55,900, although some of the Cayenne S models we test-drove had a few impressive options that boosted their price tags up over $70,000. The Cayenne Turbo starts at $88,900.
Porsche doesnÂ’t want to make a mainstream, high-volume vehicle, and intends to continue to build limited-edition specialty vehicles. The companyÂ’s market research says that the average Cayenne buyer will be 46 years old, will be 88 percent male, with 82 percent married, and 50 percent having kids under 18. When Porsche-lovers (arenÂ’t we all?) and Porsche-owners get to the point where they are married with a couple of kids, itÂ’s either time to get rid of the Porsche, or add a second vehicle to service the family. When somebody needs a four-door vehicle, or an SUV, obviously the choice is something other than a Porsche. Until now.
“We found that 40 percent of Porsche owners also have SUVs,†Mahoney added. “And the top three reasons they bought SUVs were design, handling and performance. Now Porsche owners wonÂ’t have to go elsewhere to buy an SUV. We expect in the next two or three years to doyuble out overall volume, although we have capacity constraints. We anticipate selling 23,000 total vehicles in the first year, and weÂ’re aiming for 45,000 in the next two to three years.Ââ€
The urge to buy SUVs is for all-season handling, and the perceived security of a strong structure, even though well over 90 percent of SUV buyers never venture off the road to take advantage of a true SUVÂ’s capabilities. Porsche could have sold a million Cayennes if it offered a strictly on-road version of the vehicle, but there was no chance of that. Porsche, being Porsche, made this one stand alone in capabilities both on and off the road.
At the introduction this past week for waves of journalists, we were able to drive both the Cayenne S and the Cayenne Turbo through their paces. First we hit the highways and freeways leading away from Birmingham, and later we went to Barber Motorsports Park, where we were able to take part in the Porsche Driving Experience, over both a rugged off-road course and a tight and tricky new road-racing course. We had professional race drivers like Hurley Haywood, Doc Bundy and David Donohue (son of the late Mark Donohue) showing us the intricacies of the vehicles and how to best extract the virtues in all circumstances.
Porsche anticipates that 80 percent of Cayenne buyers will choose the “S†model, which starts with an all-new 4.5-liter V8 engine delivering 340 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque. The Cayenne Turbo has twin turbochargers on the same engine, with electronic management extracting 450 horsepower at 6,000 RPMs and 457 foot-pounds of torque from 2,250 RPMs on up to 4,750 revs. The new engine shares much of the internal dimensions, such as cylinder bore, with the Boxster six-cylinder, and borrows liberally from the 911 Turbo for cylinder head and temperature-proof alloy construction.
Both versions come only with four-wheel drive, and with the Porsche Tiptronic six-speed automatic transmission. The PTM (Porsche Traction Management) four-wheel drive system sends 62 percent of the carÂ’s power to the rear and 38 percent to the front under normal conditions, but can transfer any or all of the power to the axle with better traction any time any spinning is detected. It will tow 7,716 pounds, and tow it quite swiftly, I must add. Air suspension has six heights that are both adjustable and self-adjustable for rough conditions, and the Tiptronic allows clutchless manual shifting. Off the road, electronic switches can set a reduced-ratio off-road gear, and another flip of the switch can eliminate the center differential and lock in both the front and rear axles for equal duty.
Porsche Stability Management (PSM) coordinates the traction control, antilock brakes and the vehicleÂ’s direction to help keep it running straight, on road and off. The air-suspension settings can raise the CayenneÂ’s ground clearance 4.56 inches to a maximum of 10.75, which drops back down at speeds over 20 mph, just as the lowest-level setting drops to extra-low whenever speed exceeds 130 mph. (!) Other of the six settings can be set for standard ride height, or somewhat hiter for rougher roads and up to 50 mph.
Both a hill-holding feature in the transmission for going up steep hills and a low-range setting that uses engine braking to keep you under control when going down steep banks.
The Cayenne is structured out of high-strength steel, with reinforcement of boron steel in the pillars to make the occupant compartment secure, and the assortment of air bags and side curtains enhance the safety aspect. Huge brakes also meet PorscheÂ’s rigid demands.
Amid all the uproar over Porsche building an SUV, forgotten is the fact that the Cayenne also is PorscheÂ’s first four-door vehicle. There is no pretense about a third-row seat, but it has good seat room for five, and excellent space for four occupants. The interior is classy and tasteful, with leather and either real wood or brushed alloy trim.
The beauty, of course, is in the driving. On the freeway, the Cayenne is swift and secure, perfectly poised on its suspension and never feeling like a truck, or anything except a slightly taller Porsche. With the suspension set in comfort mode, it remains stable and precise; in normal mode, it’s a bit firmer; in sports mode, it is definitely stiffer – almost performance stiff, which many drivers might find too harsh on frost-heaved bumps or potholes.
On the off-road course, the Cayenne was truly impressive. Over rugged terrain where one or even two wheels were off the ground, staying steadily on the power required only a bit of patience to allow the electronic systems to reassign the power and give the Cayenne the guidance to pull itself out of trouble. Over large rocks, steep inclines, foot-deep muddy ruts on a course carved through the Alabama trees on the Barber Motorsports grounds, the Cayenne never flinched or hesitated. I was driving the first Cayenne behind off-road expert Jay Tischler, and after watching him have great difficulty climbing a steep and muddy hill, I got a bit of momentum up, listened to Hurley HaywoodÂ’s urging to stay consistent on the gas, and we went straight up the same hill in the same ruts.
On the race track, Haywood’s 24-Hours of LeMans experience and suggested lines around the twisty turns made the Cayenne behave absolutely with Porsche-like precision. Haywood, who has successfully raced virtually every Porsche in existence, said that he was totally impressed with what Porsche had done to make the Cayenne a true Porsche – not only on the road, and off the road, but on a race track as well.
Despite weighing 5,000 pounds (4,949 for the S, and 5,192 for the Turbo), all that power sends the Cayenne to eye-popping speeds. The Cayenne S goes 0-60 in 7.1 seconds and hits a top speed of 150; the Cayenne Turbo does 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and hits a top speed of 165.
Those numbers are dazzling if weÂ’re talking about a Carrera, but weÂ’re talking about an SUV here, complete with fold-down rear seat that expands cargo capacity from 19 cubic feet to over 62 cubic feet, and with a unique Bose surround-sound audio system with 350 watts and 14 speakers, and, functional cupholders that may even work going up a 45-degree hill off-road.
Just as Porsche sports cars go above and beyond the norm in engineering and performance, that may be where the new Cayenne best traces Porsche heritage, because it exceeds every expectation, wherever you can drive.
(John Gilbert writes a weekly automotive column. He can be reached by e-mail at: jgilbert@duluth.com.)
Gophers lead upset-filled WCHA into final week scramble
Incredible comebacks on the penultimate weekend of WCHA play have left all sorts of challenges for eight of the 10 conference teams, with only those teams at the two extremities free of pressure going into the final regular-season weekend.
Only Colorado College, which wrapped up the championship by bombarding Minnesota State-Mankato 8-1 in a Friday night shocker, and winless Alaska-Anchorage are certain to not move during the final weekend. Elsewhere, there is chaos, as teams battle for the top five slots and home ice in the WCHA playoffs.
The award for comeback series of the season might belong to Minnesota, because the Gophers proved they could rally from a three-goal deficit not only once but both times against Denver, both times with tremendous surges in the second half of their games. The first night, Denver strode to a 3-0 lead through two periods with poise and precision, but Minnesota stormed back in the third period, behind two goals from Grant Potulny, to steal a 3-3 tie. PotulnyÂ’s second goal, on a power-play feed from behind the net by Matt Koalska with 1:05 left, gained the tie, as Minnesota outshot Denver 17-3 in the third period.
The next night, Denver again strode resolutely ahead. For the second night in a row, the overflow crowd at Mariucci Arena was stunned when Luke Fulgham opened the game with a shorthanded goal. Friday he did it at 15:44, and Saturday he scored at 17:06. In the Friday game, Kevin Doell and Jeff Drummond followed with second-period goals for the 3-0 cushion. In the Saturday game, Greg Keith followed FulghamÂ’s lead with another goal 1:23 later for a 2-0 lead. Potulny, who missed the first half of the season with a broken ankle, notched his third goal of the weekend at 0:55 of the second, but Fulgham seemed to nullify that by scoring at 2:27 and 4:32 for a hat trick and a four-goal weekend, which staked Denver to its 4-1 lead.
With Denver, the consensus coaches pick to repeat as WCHA champions, having Friday nightÂ’s Gopher comeback fresh in mind, there was no chance the Pioneers would let it happen again. But even their hardened resolve and the presence of league-leading goalie Wade Dubielewicz couldnÂ’t harness the Gophers, once they started rolling.
Tyler Hirsch got the puck as a lucky bounce and scored a power-play goal at 12:26 of the second period, then Hirsch maneuvered through the defense and beat Dubielewicz with a great move at 14:59, and it was 4-3. Koalska scored the tying goal just 18 seconds later, deflecting Paul MartinÂ’s point shot up and in, and the huge crowd was on fire. Barely a minute later, Barry Tallackson barged to the net and scored to put Minnesota ahead 5-4 at 16:22.
Tallackson, who, like Potulny and Koalska, had been expected to lead the Gopher offense but spent a few weeks on the injured list, made his physical presence felt throughout the rally, and capitalized on a 2-on-1 feed from Jerrid Reinholz at 3:30 of the third period, and when Jake Fleming scored at 6:11, the Gophers had scored six straight goals to wrest a 7-4 lead, and Denver coach George Gwozdecky pulled Dubielewicz for Adam Berkhoel’s relief. The seven goals – despite Dubielewicz’s 34 saves – dropped him from the top of the goaltending charts in both goals-against and save percentage.
Jeff Drummond came back to get a goal for the Pioneers, but Jon Waibel offset that one, and Minnesota had its 8-5 victory.
Still, only home ice was secured for the Gophers, who close the season with home-and-home games against St. Cloud State. “They’re all big now,†said Minnesota coach Don Lucia, whose team showed that with all its top guns healthy at the same time, it might be generating some great team chemistry at precisely the right time.
Finishing in the top five is the first priority of all WCHA teams, because it guarantees home ice for the best-of-three first playoff round next week. After that, the five survivors go to Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, where finishing in the top three becomes pivotal. Once there, the second and third-place teams get the same benefit as the league champ, by comprising two-thirds of the semifinals. The fourth and fifth place teams must play each other on Thursday, with that winner going against the No. 1 seed, while the No. 2 and No. 3 teams square off in the other semifinal.
By gaining three points out of four against Denver, Minnesota remained third, behind CC and Minnesota State-Mankato. Those two had an interesting series, with CC blowing out the Mavericks 8-1 to end MankatoÂ’s 17-game unbeaten streak with a definite thud. The next night, CC led 6-4 after two periods, and seemed well on its way to a sweep, but Mankato stormed back to win 9-6. The stunning split left the Mavericks in second place, more importantly with a three-point bulge over Minnesota, because the Mavericks are through with WCHA play, but will hold second unless Minnesota can sweep St. Cloud State.
Minnesota needs one point out of the St. Cloud series to assure itself of third place, because if the Gophers stay at 34 points, onrushing Minnesota-Duluth could catch them for third. The Bulldogs did the comeback routine as well, coming from a 3-1 deficit at North Dakota to surprise the Fighting Sioux with a 3-3 deadlock on Saturday, then concluding the weekend with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon. Freshman Tim Stapleton, UMDÂ’s scoring leader who scored the tying goal in the first game, notched the winner in the second game with 2:01 left. For the third time in four weeks, UMD coach Scott Sandelin gave senior Rob Anderson the goaltending start in the second game to spell freshman flash Isaac Reichmuth, and for the third straight time Anderson came up with a starring role and a victory.
If UMD were to tie Minnesota – a longshot, at best – the two would have to go deep into the tie-breaking procedure because they met only twice this year and traded 5-4 victories. UMD, on the other hand, faces Michigan Tech and former Bulldog coach Mike Sertich in the final series, and the Bulldogs could finish anywhere from third to sixth based on this weekend. With 30 points, the fourth-place Dogs are within striking distance of the Gophers above, but also are vulnerable to North Dakota, which is one point back, and Denver and St. Cloud, both of whom are two points behind them.
North Dakota, which has seen its scoring fall off and its winning, and No. 1 national ranking, vanish in the last month, takes its fifth-place stance to Wisconsin, and shares the challenge with Denver (which faces Colorado College home and home) and St. Cloud (which faces Minnesota home and home), with the Sioux, Pioneers and Huskies all facing the prospects of finishing fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh based on their final two games.
Even Wisconsin, which surprised everybody by scoring nine goals for a 9-5 sweeping victory over Michigan Tech in a game played at Green Bay, Wis., and Tech are only three points apart. Far from challenging for fifth place and home ice, the difference between eighth and ninth is the difference between playing at either Minnesota State-Mankato or Minnesota. Pick your poison.
(John Gilbert has covered the WCHA for over 35 years and has written a book, “Return to Gold Country,†about last year’s Minnesota NCAA championship team. He can be reached by e-mail: jgilbert@duluth.com.)
Simley ‘rope-a-dope’ entraps Rochester Lourdes in A semis
SAINT PAUL, MN. — Simley will be given almost no chance to upset powerful, No. 1 ranked Warroad in the Minnesota state high school Class A hockey championship game, but the case could also be made that the SpartansÂ’ upset status might mean they are right where they want to be for their Saturday high noon appointment in the title game at Xcel Energy Center.
If it werenÂ’t so ironic, you could say that Simley (18-10-1) already has proved that lightning can strike twice in the state high school hockey tournament. The irony is that Simley, from Inver Grove Heights, is not particularly quick, and is the opposite of a fearsome offensive power. Instead, they seem to prefer a rope-a-dope style of containing powerful opponents with a stubborn defense and the goaltending of Troy Davenport, and hanging around just close enough to steal a victory. Or, victories.
Otherwise, the cliché fits. Simley upset Rochester Lourdes 3-2 Friday, on a goal by Adam Hoaglund at 8:00 of the second sudden-death overtime, to gain Saturday’s Class A championship game against powerful Warroad. Close followers of the Class A segment of the tournament can be forgiven if they are consumed by a feeling of déjàvu about that result.
In Wednesday’s opening round, Simley was given little chance against St. Louis Park, but despite being outshot 30-16, Simley held on and then upset the Orioles 2-1 on an overtime goal by – guess who? – Adam Hoagland.
So in FridayÂ’s semifinal, Simley was given even less chance against Rochester Lourdes, but the Spartans, and Hoaglund, did it again.
Lourdes (22-3-3) jumped ahead when John Brunkhorst scored at 12:12 of the first period, but Simley struck back when Mike Bailey countered at 14:29.
In the second period, Bailey scored again, and the Spartans had a 2-1 lead at 5:58.
Lourdes responded with a determined increase in pressure through the third period, outshooting Simley 9-4, but it took until the final minute, with a six-man attack that the Eagles were able to notch the equalizer. Jamie Ruff got the goal, with 29 seconds remaining, to force overtime.
Lourdes dominated the first overtime, outshooting the Spartans 11-1, but with no success in puncturing DavenportÂ’s stout goaltending. After the first extra session, which was for eight minutes, the teams lined up for a 15-minute session, and halfway through, Adam Hoaglund got free in the slot for an instant, and put his shot past Ben Alker to give Simley its 2-1 victory despite being outshot 32-24.
So, after having no little chance against St. Louis Park, and almost no chance against Rochester Lourdes, Simley is in the championship game with – allegedly – no chance against Warroad.
Eden Prairie hangs on for first-ever state tournament victory
SAINT PAUL, MN. — As long as its been a season for eliminating unflattering stereotypes, Eden Prairie wiped out the most nagging accusation Thursday by beating Lakeville 3-2 in the first round of the boys Class AA hockey tournament at Xcel Center.
True, 3-2 isnÂ’t exactly a show of domination, but it was enough to vault the Eagles (22-3-3) into the semifinals, where they have never ventured.
“Eden Prairie has been here four times, and IÂ’ve been with ‘em for three of those,†said coach Lee Smith. “This was our first win in the state tournament.Ââ€
Now, that doesnÂ’t count the odd consolation game, but the Eagles, with an emerging powerhouse program, had never won a first-round game, and therefore never advanced beyond one-and-done status.
“WeÂ’ve heard it all, though,†Smith added. “These guys had been told we couldnÂ’t get by Edina in Section 6, but we did it.Ââ€
They did it by blitzing top-seeded Edina 6-0 in the section final, but once in the state field, the challenge was larger.
And they blitzed Lakeville, too, but it didn’t show on the scoreboard. In fact, the Panthers almost succeeded in prep hockey’s version of “rope-a-dope,†falling behind 2-0, then 3-0, then somehow finding a way to stay in proximity of upsetting Eden Prairie – without shooting, difficult as that may seem.
Aaron WeberÂ’s goal at 11:36 of the second period gave Lakeville life, and Adam Davis scored a power-play goal at 3:36 of the third to make it 3-2, and even though the Panthers wound up with only 11 shots on goal for the game, to Eden PrairieÂ’s 26, Lakeville was always just one turnover away from the equalizer.
Ryan Hawkins admitted to some relief after the game, but mostly for the sake of the program.
“For our program, itÂ’s the biggest thing ever done,†said Hawkins. “ItÂ’s great for our program, our coaches and the guys. Nick Peters, Chris Berg and I are all seniors who were on the 2000 state tournament team as sophomores. We played Greenway in the first game, and we were ahead, but they scored with two seconds left, and beat us in overtime. ThatÂ’s all I could think of, when this game got down to the last few minutes. We donÂ’t usually let that sort of thing bother us.Ââ€
Hawkins helped see to it that the Eagles would get off to a strong start, but he gave credit to Dave Watters. “Twenty-two is the big-gamer on our team, and when he came out and buried his first shot, we knew we were going to be OK,†said Hawkins.
Watters scored on a game-opening rush, knocking in a rebound at the left edge at 0:53. At 5:00, Brady Miller got the puck in the left corner and found Hawkins in the slot. Hawkins shot quickly and put the puck in off the right post for a 2-0 start.
“Brady saw me after he was mucking it out in the corner,†said Hawkins. “I donÂ’t even know where it went, I just tried to get it off quick.Ââ€
Lakeville, outshot 12-3 in the first period, was outshot 8-4 in the second, but goaltender Brandon OÂ’Brien held the Panthers in the game. It didnÂ’t seem to be enough, though, when Nate Hanson scored on a rebound at 10:07 of the second session.
But a minute and a half later, LakevilleÂ’s Weber scored from the slot, and it was 3-1. The third period opened with successive penalties to Eden PrairieÂ’s Chris Berenguer at 1:12 and Joe Beck at 2:02, leaving the Eagles two men short for 1:10, and Lakeville on an extended power play with the overlap.
Davis came through with his power-play goal at 3:36, the Panthers were within striking distance.
“We had to kill the 5-on-3,†Smith said. “Then when we got one guy back, we iced the puck and the ref blew his whistle. We were shorthanded, so it should have been OK, and when they realized that, they faced off at center ice, instead of the puck being down at their end. ThatÂ’s when they scored.Ââ€
But no amount of odd calls or close calls could matter. Eden Prairie is now 11-0-1 in its stretch run, and, biggest of all, the Eagles have won a game that mattered at the state tournament. “I really think this will put us over a big hurdle,†said Hawkins.
Roseville rallies to subdue White Bear Lake to reach semis
SAINT PAUL, MN. — Brandon Svendsen didnÂ’t actually shoot the puck either time, but he skillfully got his stickblade where it mattered the most twice in the third period, and that was just enough to lift Roseville to a 4-3 victory over White Bear Lake in the final game of the first round of Class AA boys state hockey tournament quarterfinals.
The Raiders (24-3-2) advance to face Eden Prairie in the second Friday night semifinal at Xcel Energy Center, while the Bears (21-7-1) head for Mariucci Arena to face Lakeville in consolation play.
The Bears, however, didnÂ’t go down without a battle. They led 1-0 in the first, and 3-1 in the second, putting the explosive Raiders in serious jeopardy before a crow2d of 18,273.
Lance Malark staked White Bear Lake to a 1-0 lead when he carried in on the left side and snapped a deadly wrist shot that beat Roseville goaltender Jerad Kaufmann to the far side at 7:05 of the opening period. The Raiders countered at 12:34 when Andy Carroll took a feed from behind the net by Pat Eagles and jammed a shot from the right side past Jon Anderson.
The Bears stormed ahead in the second period. First Dan Bonne scored at 3:43, moving in on the left side and scoring high to the right. Then Matt Anderson scored after Pat Connelly squeezed past a tangle of bodies to rush up the left side and pass across the slot, where Anderson was stationed to steer it in at 7:08.
That was a pretty goal, and it inspired three more picture-play goals, but, unfortunately for the Bears, all three were scored by the Raiders.
With 48 seconds to go in the second period, Roseville cut into that 3-1 deficit when Taylor Cox shot from the left point and Mike Sertich deflected it artfully up and into the right side of the cage.
The faceoff to open the third period hit the ice, and the Raiders charged. Pat Eagles dashed into the White Bear zone and passed across the goal-mouth, where Svendsen stabbed it with his stickblade and deflected it past Anderson, who was the Frankie Brimsek Award goaltender of the year this season. The goal came just eight seconds into the third period and tied it 3-3.
At 4:24, Eagles again was the alert set-up man, as he pounced on a loose puck just inside the blue line and fired a shot that Svendsen again tipped past Anderson. The senior forward didnÂ’t have the puck on his stick more than a millisecond both times, but his deflections created the 4-3 lead.
The Bears stepped up their intensity and attacked until the finish, constantly pressuring the Raiders and outshooting them 13-5 for the period, and 24-19 for the game, but couldnÂ’t get anything more past Kaufmann. Bears coach Tim Sager pulled goalie Anderson with 1:10 to go, but Roseville held on, winning the best-played game of the day.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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