Porsche’s upcoming all-electric Cayenne SUV took center stage at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, demonstrating its performance capabilities on the famous hillclimb course just weeks after setting a record at another British motorsport venue.
The camouflaged prototype, driven by Gabriela Jílková, simulator and development driver for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, made multiple runs up the 1.16-mile Goodwood hill during the July 11-14 festival. The vehicle will be offered alongside combustion-engine and hybrid variants when it reaches production.
The Cayenne Electric’s appearance at Goodwood came shortly after Jílková set a new SUV record at the Shelsley Walsh hill climb with a time of 31.28 seconds, beating the previous record by more than four seconds. The 914-meter Shelsley Walsh course, which has gradients of up to 16.7 percent and is only 3.5 meters wide in places, has been running since 1905 and is one of the world’s oldest motorsport events.
A key feature contributing to the vehicle’s performance is its Porsche Active Ride suspension system, which keeps the car’s body level during heavy braking, cornering and acceleration, ensuring maximum traction and comfort. The prototype’s acceleration performance was particularly notable, covering 60 feet (18.3 meters) from a standstill in just 1.94 seconds.
“The course is challenging and does not forgive mistakes,” Jílková said after her record-setting run at Shelsley Walsh. “There are no run-off zones and little room for correction. But the active suspension gives the new Cayenne enormous stability and precision.”
At Goodwood, Porsche also debuted the new Cayenne Black Edition, a special-edition model based on the current-generation Cayenne. Media representatives had the opportunity to experience the off-road capabilities of current Cayenne models during exclusive drives through Goodwood’s countryside surroundings.
The electric Cayenne prototype demonstrated practical capabilities beyond performance. British TV presenter Richard Hammond used the camouflaged prototype to transport a classic car more than 100 years old and weighing more than two tons, showcasing the vehicle’s towing capacity.
The Cayenne Electric is scheduled for its next public appearance at IAA Mobility in Munich in September 2025, where Porsche will present both the prototype and a technical innovation for fully electric driving. The company has not announced a final production date for the electric SUV.
