Out on a race track with its perfect surface, huge run-offs, and strict discipline, we all want a low slung sportscar. Or at least a performance coupé. The sheer handling abilities and performance of these belly-to-the-ground machines put a grin on your face so wide that it makes your helmet feel tighter. But what happens on the way back home after a happy track day? You crawl through traffic and gingerly climb bumps, hoping nothing scrapes that expensive underbelly.
Out in the real world, you need good ground clearance and a commanding driving position just to ensure that you can see all obstacles ahead and then clear them without difficulty. Enter the performance SUV. With power enough to light up your brain cells and practicality to ensure that each run to the track isn’t hair-raising, the turn of speed that you can carry in these brute machines is unbelievable. This time around, we’re counting down five performance SUVs that are available in India, which will make your sports car owning neighbour scowl at you with envy each time you two spot that speed breaker, together.
5. Porsche Cayenne GTS – 0 to 100kmph in 4.7 seconds | Price – INR 1.94 crore
At the heart of the Porsche Cayenne GTS is a twin-turbocharged 4-litre V8 engine that puts out 500HP and 660Nm of peak torque. The Cayenne GTS has a specifically tuned chassis combined with a cutting-edge adaptive air suspension system that enables incredible driving dynamics in spite of the SUV’s tall stance. There is also a Porsche Active Suspension Management system that allows for an even sportier setup. To help it stop from its 260kmph top speed, the Porsche Cayenne GTS comes kitted out with 410mm discs at the front and 365mm discs at the rear.
4. Mercedes-AMG G 63 – 0 to 100kmph in 4.4 seconds | Price – INR 3.59 crore
Who would have thought that a boxy Merc SUV would outshine a Porsche in the performance stakes? Yet, here we are. For this is no ordinary Merc, but one that has been touched by the mad magic of the AMG division of Mercedes. Like in the Cayenne GTS, power comes from a twin-turbo 4-litre V8. Except, this also gets a 48-volt hybrid system. As a result, the combined output is 585HP and a crazy 850Nm of max torque. The result is an acceleration that is 0.3 seconds quicker than the Porsche, even though the top speed remains significantly lower at 220kmph.
3. BMW XM – 0 to 100kmph in 4.3 seconds | Price – INR 2.54 crore
This plug-in hybrid is at the pinnacle of BMW’s SUV range, offering sheer driving pleasure for the person behind the wheel. This is also the brand’s first electrified M High Performance car. The eDrive electric power unit puts out 197HP, in addition to the 489HP produced by the twin turbocharged 4.4-litre V8. The result is a combined output of 653HP while peak torque stands at 800Nm, all of which is put on to the tarmac via an Adaptive M Suspension as well as an M Sport differential. The combination of electric power as well as conventional petrol-powered propulsion not only results in exceptional range but also exciting driving characteristics.
2. Audi RS Q8 – 0 to 100kmph in 3.6 seconds | Price – INR 2.32 crore
The Audi RS Q8, like the Merc and the Porsche, hides a 4-litre twinturbo V8 but this one puts out 631HP and 850Nm of max torque, which are transmitted via an 8-speed automatic gearbox. Audi has also thrown in an adaptive air suspension and its legendary Quattro all-wheel-drive tech with a sport differential to help drivers cope with this loon of an SUV. Top speed is electronically limited to 305 km/h. Braking duties are dispensed by standard ceramic disc brakes that offer maximum control while preventing overheating under harsh braking.
1. Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric – 0 to 100kmph in 2.5 seconds | Price – INR 2.26 crore
At the top of the leaderboard, sitting silently is the recently launched Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric. The all-electric SUV is the most powerful Porsche ever made, with a staggering 1,156HP and a tarmac-shredding 1,500Nm of peak torque coming in from powerful electric motors at both the front and rear axles of this 3.5 tonne SUV. It also features adaptive air suspension with height adjustment and the same Porsche Active Suspension Management that we saw in the Cayenne GTS right at the beginning. Top speed is 260kmph, which is admittedly slower than the GTS’s 275, but you’ll have got to that top speed long before the GTS driver has the chance to catch up.
You may also like
Aston Martin’s DBX 707 Shows Performance SUVs Haven’t Lost Their Edge
Dr Ravi Prakash's Garage, at the Edge of Bengaluru, Houses 300 Cars, Over 250 Bikes, and 19,000+ Books on Automobiles
Gordon Murray’s S1 LM is the World’s Most Expensive Car at USD20.6 Million
