Porsche is having a slightly awkward relationship with electrification right now. The company has delayed its all-electric Boxster and Cayman replacements, scaled back battery ambitions and watched the wider performance EV market cool off faster than a neglected cup of motorway service station coffee.

Like most legacy manufacturers, the German marque is discovering that convincing wealthy buyers to swap charismatic combustion engines for batteries isn’t always straightforward, even when the end product is objectively excellent.

A tough pill to swallow, because Porsche keeps turning out some of the best electric performance cars on the planet.

The Porsche Taycan remains a benchmark for how an EV should drive, while the Porsche Macan Electric is outrageously accomplished for something weighing well over two tonnes. Now comes the latest chapter in Porsche’s EV story: the new Porsche Cayenne Electric.

Revealed late last year, Porsche has hit back with another model that it hopes will give buyers even more choice. Here, the Coupe aims to deliver a sleeker, lower and more purposeful-looking Cayenne that shuns a little practicality for outright pace.

“Porsche keeps turning out some of the best electric performance cars on the planet”

It shares a broadly similar roofline to that seen on the iconic 911 and that the highest point of the car is some 24mm lower than the standard model.

You can argue all day long about which version looks better (we actually prefer the SUV here at Flat-Out) but it is difficult to deny that it cuts an imposing figure on the road. Add to this the fact that the sloping roofline is more aerodynamic, resulting an increased range (by up to 11 miles) of 415 miles in total and the Coupe starts to make a solid argument for itself.

And after driving the range-topping and Coupe Turbo version through rain-soaked Bavarian mountain roads, we are convinced this might be the company’s most impressive electric effort yet.

Not because it’s the most powerful production Porsche ever built — although 1,156hp is hilariously excessive in a family SUV — but because the technology underneath it all feels genuinely useful, properly polished and surprisingly future-facing.

An SUV with hypercar numbers

The easiest way to make people care about a new EV is to give it an eye-watering power figure and an even sillier acceleration time. Porsche knows this.

“The launch control featured here is among the most abusive we have ever experienced”

The range-topping Cayenne Turbo Electric develops a frankly ludicrous 1,156hp when Launch Control is activated, enough to propel the massive SUV from 0-62mph in just 2.5 seconds. That officially makes it the most powerful production Porsche ever built.

Top speed is 162mph, which feels faintly irresponsible in something capable of carrying five adults, towing 3.5 tonnes and swallowing enough luggage for an Alpine skiing holiday.

Naturally, not every Cayenne Electric buyer needs quite that level of insanity. Porsche made the decision to plough on with the internal combustion engine, as well as hybrid versions, while the standard Cayenne electric delivers 442hp with overboost engaged, while the S Electric pushes things further with 666hp.

For context, the equivalent V6 petrol-powered Cayenne Coupe suddenly looks positively modest with its 353hp output.

But while the acceleration figures are impressive pub ammunition, what really matters is how the Cayenne Electric behaves when the road starts to get interesting.

After all, it comes packing a massive 113kWh battery pack and two permanent magnet synchronous motors, meaning the Turbo Electric weighs around two-and-a-half tonnes. On paper, that sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the Stuttgart masters of handling and steering feel have somehow made this beast feel alive.

Defying physics, one corner at a time

The first thing you notice is the steering. Even at slower speeds, it feels beautifully weighted and precise, with none of the artificial weirdness that often plagues high-performance EVs.

Rotate the drive mode dial mounted to the steering wheel and the Cayenne quickly sharpens its responses. Sport Plus unleashes the full 857hp output, while a dedicated push-to-pass button unlocks the complete 1,156hp experience for short bursts of ballistic acceleration.

Modern EVs have made violent acceleration relatively common these days, but the Cayenne Turbo Electric’s launch control feels particularly savage. The thing doesn’t so much accelerate as temporarily shift the space-time continuum.

Yet unlike some rivals that simply overwhelm you with brute force, the Porsche still feels composed and confidence-inspiring when driven quickly.

Optional rear-wheel steering helps disguise the Cayenne’s considerable dimensions, effectively shrinking the SUV around tighter bends and making it feel far more agile than something this large has any right to.

The optional Porsche Active Ride suspension system is arguably even more impressive. Using active dampers that constantly adjust in real time, the system almost completely eliminates body roll while still maintaining excellent ride comfort.

The Bavarian mountain passes during our test drive were cold, soaked and intimidatingly greasy, but the Cayenne Electric somehow managed to make driving quickly feel effortless. That said, it still reminds you of the sheer power available under the right foot with the occasional slip of grip during particular rapid overtakes. Thankfully, there are myriad safety systems at work to make sure it doesn’t end in a smoky, skinny mess.

While the Cayenne doesn’t quite have the smaller Macan Electric’s playful agility, it comes alarmingly close considering the sheer size of the thing. But crucially, it still works as a proper SUV.

There’s up to 1,347 litres of storage space available, extra room in the front ‘frunk’ and enough practicality to comfortably handle family duties. Porsche will even sell buyers an optional off-road package if they fancy taking their six-figure electric performance SUV somewhere muddy.

Tech is a headline act

As outrageous as the performance is, it was actually the technology that impressed us most. This is an expensive machine, you certainly get your money’s worth when it comes to cutting-edge gadgetry.

The Cayenne Electric supports ultra-fast 390kW DC charging, allowing 10-80% top-ups in around 16 minutes under ideal conditions. That alone puts it near the top of the EV charging leaderboard.

There are also  active rear aeroblades that extend at certain speeds to increase aerodynamic efficiency. Viewed from the rear, it makes the Cayenne look a little like a fighter jet in full flow.

Porsche has also become the first major manufacturer to properly introduce wireless induction charging as a genuine optional extra.

“Simply drive up, align some graphics on the infotainment system and charging begins. No more cable mess on your jeans during the depths of winter”

We first tested the system at a prototype workshop in Leipzig, but Porsche has refined the technology for the finished article. In Bavaria, all of the cabling was neatly buried underneath the gravel of a lavish driveway, likely representing a typical customer use case. It looked neat as a button and, once parked over the pad using graphics displayed on the infotainment, charging began wirelessly at speeds of up to 11kW.

No trailing cables. No filthy hands. No fighting with heavy charging connectors during winter.

It sounds like a small luxury until you actually use it, at which point conventional charging suddenly feels oddly prehistoric.

Inside, the Cayenne Electric also debuts Porsche’s new Flow Display system — a beautifully curved glass display setup spanning the dashboard and flanked by optional passenger screens.

In total, there can be up to 40 inches of display technology onboard, yet thankfully Porsche has largely avoided the trap of overcomplicating things.

The operating system is exceptionally fast, navigation calculations happen almost instantly and the voice assistant actually understands commands without requiring robotic phrasing.

There are still a couple of questionable decisions. Adjusting air vent direction through the touchscreen rather than physical controls feels deeply un-Porsche and unnecessarily fiddly.

But elsewhere, the cabin feels hugely luxurious. Surface heating warms almost every touchpoint, from the armrests to the door cards, while the overall build quality remains predictably superb.

Another electric marvel

Pricing starts from around £86,200 in the UK for the most affordable Coupe Electric models, before Porsche’s famously dangerous options catalogue gets involved.

Residual values across the premium EV sector also remain a concern, with Porsche battling the same depreciation issues affecting rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

But viewed purely as a piece of engineering, the Cayenne Electric is staggeringly accomplished, no matter what body style you opt for.

It combines hypercar-rivalling performance with genuine long-distance comfort, cutting-edge charging technology and enough practicality to function as an everyday family SUV.

Yes, it lacks some of the theatrical drama of a snarling V8. But when something this large can corner with such composure, launch like a supercar and recharge wirelessly while you sit indoors drinking coffee, it’s difficult not to feel like Porsche has already worked out what the future of performance SUVs should look like.