Carwow’s Mat Watson flew down to the U.S. to race three Porsche Cayenne SUVs, all powered by different fuel sources – electric, gas-powered, and a hybrid. But who he was racing against was potentially even more interesting.
Watson competed with Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom, who featured in movies such as The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Troy, and Kingdom of Heaven.
With both drivers and three cars on one airstrip, Bloom was the first to do a quarter-mile run in the Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid, which comes with a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 mated to an electric motor.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid
The total power output of the hybrid Porsche is 729 hp and 949 Nm of torque. Despite all that oomph under the hood, it weighs a massive 3.6 tons, thanks to the 25 kWh battery pack beneath the boot floor.
The car comes packed with several driving modes, but Watson and Bloom were sure to use the Sport Plus for this race. Bloom did the run in 12.59 seconds, while Watson did it in 12.30 seconds. The difference was that Watson’s run was done with the traction control off.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
The two then raced in the Cayenne Turbo GT, an SUV that comes with a titanium exhaust and a diffuser. Because it isn’t fitted with heavy batteries, it is 300 kilograms lighter than the hybrid variant, making it much quicker.
Also, petrol fuels the thirsty 4.0L twin-turbo V8 producing 650 hp and 850 Nm of torque. That is significantly less than what the hybrid Cayenne produces.
However, the weight advantage did the trick. In Bloom’s run, the car hit 60 mph in 3.61 seconds and crossed the quarter-mile mark in 12.71 seconds. Watson, on the other hand, crossed the quarter-mile mark in 12.30 seconds.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric
Watson introduces this SUV as an “insane” vehicle, and he seems right about it. In launch mode, the Cayenne Electric packs 1139 hp and 1500 Nm of torque. Weighing nearly 2.7 tons, it is the second-heaviest of the three SUVs, but with the kind of power advantage at hand, weight may not be an issue after all.
Watson went first this time after winning the toss, launching it to 60 mph in just 2.59 seconds and setting a quarter-mile time of 10.21 seconds, beating the time he set in the gas-powered Cayenne Turbo by almost two seconds!
Bloom? Well he hit 60 mph in 2.62 seconds – slightly slower than Watson’s time. However, he set a faster quarter-mile time of 10.16 seconds, beating Watson by a tiny margin.
Watson then summed up the three drag races in classic Carwow style. He said:
“So, then what exactly happened? Well, in the Turbo E-Hybrid, I won. I beat Orlando’s 0-60 mph time by 0.12 seconds and his quarter-mile time by 0.29 seconds. However, in the Turbo GT, Orlando won. He beat my 0-60 time by 0.29 seconds and my quarter-mile time by 0.19 seconds.
“Finally, in the new Cayenne Turbo Electric, I beat Orlando’s 0-60 time by just 0.03 seconds. However, he beat me over the all-important quarter mile by 0.05 seconds, making him the overall winner.”
