Almost 20 years since it was released, Porsche has just built its one millionth Cayenne SUV. Context? It took the company 54 years to build a million 911s.
The Carmine Red GTS, which recently rolled off the production line in Bratislava, Slovakia, was ordered new by a customer in Germany.
Porsche wasn’t in a great way back in the Nineties, with losses totalling 240 million Deutschmarks by the end of 1992. The Boxster (launched in 1996) helped a bit, but wouldn’t be enough on its own. So at the end of the Nineties Porsche linked up with VW and begun work on the “Colorado Project” – the joint development of the first-generation Cayenne and VW Touareg SUVs.
The Cayenne, revealed at 2002’s Paris Motor Show, was immediately successful. It made a profit and, in Porsche’s words, “helped to pull the company out of a crisis”. In the 2007/2008 financial year, the Cayenne outsold the 911 to the tune of 50,000 vehicles. The 250,000th Cayenne was built in 2009.
By the way, keen on a current Cayenne yourself? Check out the Premium Package-equipped 2021-spec model that's now open for orders through Porsche Malaysia.
