Porsche is set to unveil its first electric Cayenne later this year and will preview a camouflaged version at this month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. But the EV has already been seen in action at another British hillclimb where it smashed an SUV record by 4 seconds and jumped off the line as fast as the slick-shod purpose-built racecars running at the same event.

The location for the runs was the historic Shelsey Walsh hillclimb, which claims it’s the oldest motorsport venue in the world still using its original course – it held its first event in 1905. Gabriela Jílková, a development driver for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, hurled the EV up the twisty 1,000-yard (914 m), 16.7 percent grade road in 31.28 seconds, destroying the 35.53-second record previously set by a Bentley Bentayga.

Related: Porsche’s Electric Cayenne Dash Packs Four Screens And Barely Any Buttons

Official time-keeping data also showed the Cayenne covered the first 60 yards (18.3 m) in only 1.94 seconds, a time equaled at the event only by single-seater racecars with slick tires, despite the Porsche making do with road-legal summer rubber.

Porsche didn’t reveal how much power the record-breaking Cayenne prototype had at its disposal, but we do know some key details thanks to a video in which former Top Gear host Richard Hammond got to try the EV before handing it over to the Jílková for the Shelsey runs.

Hammond confirms that the Cayenne features Porsche’s Active Ride suspension, a system that appears on the Taycan, but not on the Macan EV whose platform the Cayenne shares. He also notes that the synthesized sounds the EV makes in its Track mode sound a bit like a combustion V8’s and says he was told the power output would be greater than the 730 hp (739 PS / 544 kW) generated by the punchiest of the ICE Cayennes, the turbo E-Hybrid.

Potentially of more interest to anyone with boats or trailers to haul is the news that the Cayenne Electric – depending on spec – has a towing capacity of 7,716 lbs (3,500 kg). While certain EVs like the GMC Hummer can pull more (12,000 lbs / 5,440 kg), the Cayenne Electric’s rating matches the tow rating of both the Rivian R1S and the combustion Cayenne which will continue to be sold alongside the new EV.

To prove the point Hammond used the Cayenne to drag his heavy, vintage Lagonda, and claimed the electric motors made light work of hills.

Porsche

Porsche’s Taycan Turbo GT is on a mission to claim back some bragging rights in the electric car arena. After Xiaomi’s recent announcements about snatching the record at the Nurburgring and Shanghai, Porsche has wasted no time making sure its own electric sedan gets the spotlight.

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Last month, the all-electric sedan was taken to Road Atlanta and, with Patrick Long behind the wheel, set a storming best lap of 1:27.15. That easily toppled the Taycan Turbo S that had once held the EV record, and proves just how focused the Turbo GT is.

For the record run, Porsche used a Taycan Turbo GT with the optional Weissach Package, which removes the rear seats, transforming the four-door sedan into a four-door two-seater. The car was also fitted with ultra-sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS NF0 performance tires developed specifically for it.

In recording a best lap of 1:27.15, the Turbo GT smashed the Turbo S’s previous record of 1:33.88 by a massive 6.73 seconds – an age around a circuit. Porsche says the lap was recorded with the tire pressures set at 37 psi, the battery charged at 97%, and most of the track dry, although there were a few damp patches.

The Taycan Turbo GT is still some way off the production car lap record of 1:22.80 set by the new 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 earlier this year, but no one in their right mind would expect an electric sedan to get close to that. The Taycan’s time is a little closer to the Porsche 911 GT2 RS’s 2019 1:24.88 run, which, at the time, was a record. Porsche’s EV also came close to upsetting the 991 GT3 RS which has posted a 1:26.24 lap at the same track.

Speaking after the record run, Long said, “I expected the steering feel, connection, and feedback, but I didn’t expect how powerful the Active Ride suspension would be in counteracting pitch, roll, and squat.”

Read: Porsche Orders UK Dealers To Stop Selling Some Taycans

Earlier this year, the Taycan Turbo GT set a new EV lap record at Interlagos and, in 2024, did the same at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca track and the Shanghai International Circuit. It also previously held a record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

However, in recent months, Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra has snatched away the Taycan’s records in Shanghai and at the ‘Ring. It seems like Porsche is not happy with the Chinese stealing the limelight and is on a mission to show just how quick the Taycan can be.