In 2002, Porsche did something that, at the time, seemed almost unthinkable. A company whose identity had been built around sports cars introduced an SUV.
The Cayenne went on to become one of Porsche's defining success stories. More than two decades later, the Cayenne is beginning a new chapter for Porsche. The new Cayenne Electric brings the nameplate into the fully electric era, and at the top of the range, the Cayenne Turbo Electric produces up to 850 kW (1,156 HP)—making it the most powerful production Porsche ever built. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and is capable of charging at 800 volts and 400 kW.
In August, this new generation arrived in Los Cabos, Mexico, for an event putting clients and members of the press behind the wheel.
The setting was the newly opened Park Hyatt Cabo del Sol, on the Baja California Sur coastline overlooking the Sea of Cortez. It is a spectacular place to experience a new Porsche. It also presents a very particular energy challenge.
For several days, members of the press, influencers and potential buyers would put the Cayenne Electric through its paces across the varied terrain around Los Cabos. The route combined urban roads with some of the more demanding landscapes of Baja California Sur, including stretches of rock-hewn desert terrain and sand dunes. It was an opportunity for Porsche to prove the Cayenne can perform in real-world conditions, and every driver to experience it at its best.
That made the charging infrastructure a key part of the event's success. As the Cayennes returned from each drive, they needed to be recharged and prepared for the next group. Nothing could be allowed to interrupt the schedule—not a lack of available power, not difficult site conditions and certainly not a charging system that could not withstand the heat and humidity of the location.
The event required a charging solution capable of reliably delivering high power throughout the driving schedule. With no conventional grid connection available at the site, the infrastructure had to operate independently and keep pace as vehicles returned from each session. The system was engineered specifically around this demanding operating scenario and the hot and sandy conditions of Los Cabos.
The challenge was clear: super-fast charging in an off-grid location, with only a few days for installation, in demanding environmental conditions, including the heat and humidity of Los Cabos.
To support Porsche, QiOn deployed a temporary, off-grid charging solution built around six Maveriq superchargers, allowing six Cayenne Electric vehicles to charge simultaneously.
The Maveriq, QiOn's DC fast-charging solution, delivered super-fast charging throughout a continuous schedule of test drives, getting the Cayennes ready for the next round of drivers in just minutes.
Amazing things happen when two state-of-the-art technologies work together
Porsche describes the Cayenne Electric as a technological milestone, incorporating technologies developed through traditional motorsport into a vehicle with a 113 kWh battery, 800-volt architecture and extraordinary levels of performance. Almost 25 years after the original Cayenne expanded what a Porsche could be, its electric successor is doing it again.
QiOn also comes from a racing and engineering culture. Our technologies are developed and tested for demanding real-world applications, including motorsport, where speed, reliability and continuous performance leave little room for compromise. Our R&D experience shapes how we approach every project: building energy infrastructure around the conditions it will actually face, whether that means an off-grid location, extreme environments or highly demanding operating cycles.
The most powerful production Porsche ever built needed power on demand. QiOn delivered.
