Porsche rolls out 250,000th Cayenne

The Cayenne SUV, much-reviled by Porsche purists, has hit a milestone with the release of its 250,000th unit from Leipzig, Germany.

Destined for Austria, the milestone unit is a departure its sportscar roots. It is also powered by a diesel engine in response to revised legal regulations in European markets.

Since the first-generation, pre-facelift version was launched in 2006, Porsche has sold 150,000 units of the Cayenne SUV worldwide.

When the more handsome, facelifted version came out in 2007, the Cayenne's sales figures became even stronger, encouraging Porsche to expand the unit's production at its Leipzig plant.

Today, the Cayenne series is available in seven different variants.

The entry-level model comes with a 3.6-liter, six-cylinder engine with 290 horsepower.

The diesel model, which debuts at the ongoing Geneva International Motor Show, has a three-liter engine with 240 horsepower and has a fuel consumption of, on average, only 9.3 liters per 100 kilometers.

The more powerful S version is driven by an 8-cylinder engine with a 4.8 liter engine that produces 385 horsepower while the Cayenne Turbo achieves a 500 horsepower performance.

As for the top-of-the-line Cayenne Turbo S, a twin turbocharger, 550 horsepower engine resides under the hood.

The particularly athletic GTS model offers, in addition to its 405 horsepower, 4.8-liter engine, a specially developed sports suspension and an accentuated dynamic design while the seventh model is the Cayenne S Transsyberia, built to commemorate Porsche's victory in the Transsyberia rally.

Meanwhile, a clean and environment-friendly motoring fix without sacrificing the sporting, utility nature the Cayenne offers, Porsche has developed a gasoline-electric hybrid premium SUV that the carmaker hopes to make available within the year.