Porsche just added a 701-hp sports car and 1,100-hp+ SUV. I drove both

ASPEN, Colorado – I recently drove a half-million dollars’ worth of Porsches, the legendary brand’s two newest, most exciting and advanced vehicles: the 701-horsepower 2026 911 Turbo S convertible and 1,139-hp 2026 Cayenne Turbo EV.

Porsche faces challenges like never before in its history as it simultaneously develops some of the world’s best gasoline-powered sports cars and electric luxury SUVs and sedans.

Some of the world’s top automakers have broken the china with that juggling act – but don’t underestimate the power of a brace of German engineers with an unlimited budget.

First up: The Porsche 911 Turbo S convertible

The 2026 9111 Turbo S is the most powerful production 911 ever.

The Turbo S’s 3.6L horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine produces 701 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque. That’s 29 hp more than the 2025 Turbo S, despite the fact that last year’s Turbo S engine was bigger – 3.7L.

Thank a pair of electrically powered turbos for that, plus quicker acceleration and a feeling of endless power when you floor it.

The result is the kind of performance you’d expect from a larger engine. The turbos also generate electricity to make sure the battery never runs out guaranteeing instant boost even after hours of hard driving.

Porsche’s responsive and durable eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is standard.

The convertible accelerates to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Top speed is 200 mph.

Every chassis response is precise, from steering response to a surprisingly smooth ride in easy driving.

The Turbo S has virtually every performance feature Porsche offers including:

Lowered sport suspension

Carbon ceramic brakesElectrohydraulic suspensionPCC anti-body rollGeo-tagged front-axle lift for familiar driveways and garages.

The new features add 180 pounds, but Porsche reports the Turbo S was still 14 seconds faster around the Nürburgring than last year’s model.

Porsche Turbo S prices start at $284,300. The car I evaluated stickered at $301,980. All prices exclude $2,350 destination charge.

Beautiful, intuitive interior

I found the convertible coupe pleasantly snug.

Every switch is within immediate reach. Upholstered in saddle brown leather, the front seats are beautiful, comfortable and supportive in enthusiastic driving.

The rear seats are deeply scooped but virtually unusable for adults. Grocery bags fit like a charm.

The insulated power soft top gave me a comfortable, quiet ride. There’s little air turbulence in the cabin with the top open.

Climate and audio systems have physical controls.

More: Mercedes-Maybach S 680 sedan takes luxury to new heights

More: 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ: This is how you do a big luxury EV

Next, driving the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric

Porsche’s first electric Cayenne, the new EV has every performance and comfort features I could ask for.

My drive covered about 250 miles and went from Aspen’s 7,900 foot elevation to around 12,000 feet, across the Continental Divide and included highways, twisting mountain roads and Alpine meadows.

The SUV has an impressively low 0.25 coefficient of drag. The coupe sands that down to 0.23, at the cost of some roofline, headroom and cargo space. Porsche expects the coupe to account for about 40% of sales.

I tested the SUV, but both body styles are on sale now.

The Cayenne Turbo I drove is the most powerful production Porsche ever with up to 1,139 hp in launch mode.

Being neither suicidal nor homicidal, I never used launch mode on Colorado’s public roads, but with 844 hp in normal mode and 1,017 for 10 seconds using push-to-pass, the Cayenne EV gave me resting excited face.

What does Porsche think we’re passing, an ICBM?

The Cayenne can hit 60 mph in 2.4 seconds and 162 mph with launch mode, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

You’ve never seen a screen like this

The cabin is roomy with plenty of room for five and useful cargo space for weekend getaways, golf and picnics.

The touch screen and instrument cluster are bright and clear. The center touch screen curves with the shape of the center stack, a unique and appealing presentation that can present up to 14.25 inches of crystal-clear information. There’s also a passenger screen for apps, entertainment, even streaming video the driver can’t see when the Cayenne’s moving.

Cayenne's charging is really fast, and inductive is coming

The Cayenne’s 113 kWh battery can charge from 10%-80% in as little as 16 minutes under ideal circumstances. A pad for ground based inductive charging should be available soon.

An official EPA range estimate isn’t available as I write this, which is frankly weird, but Porsche says to expect around 300 miles from the Turbo and S models, 317 from the base Cayenne EV.

I found that credible after my day of hard driving up and down mountains and around mining and ranch roads at lower altitudes.

There’s an off-road package, but who are you kidding? The only way a Cayenne’ll go farther off-road than the parking area closest to a trout stream is if the Zombie Apocalypse reaches Aspen after the slopes shut down for the day.

Cayenne Electric prices start at $109,000. The Cayenne Turbo SUV I drove cost $163,000 in base trim and stickered at $195,470 as tested.

Back to those challenges Porsche faces

Despite making spectacular vehicles, faces Porsche faces significant obstacles. Sales in China, once its biggest market, fell dramatically as buyers turned to domestic brands. On the heels of that setback, U.S. import tariffs depressed sales in its next largest market.

Now there’s concern Porsche overestimated demand for its EVs when it stopped building internal-combustion versions of the Macan compact SUV, its global best seller.

The Macan EV has been welcomed in Europe, but Porsche hedged its bets by stocking up on internal combustion Macans in the United States. That sales cushion is about to run out. The Macan EV’s American performance is crucial.

VW is in charge, but there’s still hope

On top of that, some of Porsche’s most passionate customers – 911 owners who race their cars on weekends – are tough to convert to EVs. They drive their cars to the track, hammer them hour after hour, and drive home at the end of the day.

They’re used to brief stops to refuel, hydrate and swap tall tales, and hit the track again. But it takes longer to charge an EV than fill a gas tank. That cuts into precious track time. On top of that, many small race tracks don’t have fast-charging capacity. Owners chafe at the idea of wasting track time driving miles for a charge.

Those issues will diminish in time, but tomorrow's answer doesn't get you more time on the track today.

In response to the challenges, and like virtually every other automaker, Porsche has backed away from a timeframe for when it will go all-electric. Internal combustion Porsches will remain in production for the foreseeable future.

For years, Porsche was the most profitable part of the giant Volkswagen group, which owns 75%. That dependable windfall has vanished, putting the smaller brand under more pressure from the boardroom in Wolfsburg, Germany.

I don’t particularly trust VW management, but this isn’t Porsche’s first rodeo. I’d bet its engineering and design resources, combined with the 911’s timeless appeal, will get it through this, too.

Contact Mark Phelan: mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.