Drag Race Between Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and Mercedes S63 AMG

We wonder what EVO was trying to prove when they staged a drag race between a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and a Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG – by what margin the latter would sail ahead?

Obviously, the Mercedes was ahead by some margin when it crossed the one-kilometer marker, helped by more power, roughly the same weight as the Porsche and the massive aero advantage it had over it. However, it did show that for the first few yards after starting off, the all-wheel drive of the Porsche means it sprints off the line 0.3 seconds faster than the Merc, reaching sixty in 4.1 seconds. However, thanks in part to its long wheelbase, the S63 doesn’t lose too much traction off the line and immediately pulls ahead.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo Pitted Against ML 63 AMG by Fifth Gear

Two all-wheel drive leviathans were recently pitted against each other by the chaps over at Fifth Gear, and as with just about any other comparison test out there, only one of them emerged as the victor. First, we should see whom exactly we are dealing with: in one corner, we have a performance SUV from Stuttgart, while in the other one, we have...a performance SUV from Stuttgart.

Actually, the resemblances between the two rivals are more than meets the eye, as both cars have 500+ hp, offer a naught to 100 km/h (62mph) acceleration time of less than five seconds and have all-wheel drive. On top of that - and very few people know this - they were almost blood brothers, since way before the first generation of the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg/Audi Q7 were developed, Porsche had approached Mercedes-Benz for a co-produced premium SUV in the mid 1990s.

Getting back to the heavyweight boxing match that Fifth Gear's Tiff Needell and rally driver Mark Higgins put together, it's bound to stir some heated discussions. We have a 525 hp and slightly heavier Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG driven by Tiff, while Mark tries to show him who's the boss in a 500 hp and slightly lighter Porsche Cayenne Turbo, with both cars being driven on a mildly fast section of a rain-drenched British circuit.

With the tests first consisting of a 0-100-0 mph (0-162-0 km/h) sprint and then of a full lap at high speed, we had a hunch about the winner right from the beginning, but we won't spoil the surprise.

Porsche's New Flat Four Turbo Engines Said to be Offered in 1.6, 2.0 and 2.5 Liter Displacements

The new Macan may have the distinction of offering the first four-cylinder engine in Porsche's range in more than two decades, but the VW Group-sourced 2.0-liter turbo'd unit that is shared with the likes of Seat, Skoda and Audi, is a temporary solution as the Stuttgart carmaker is preparing its very own four-cylinder boxer engines.

The modern turbocharged flat-four will help Porsche go with the times while keeping a distinct character for its powertrains and providing a link with the larger horizontally opposed engines used in the 911.

UK's Car Magazine says it has seen the spec sheet on Porsche's flat-four project that proposes three different versions of the engine:

Porsche 1.6 flat four with 210bhp / ?
Porsche 2.0 flat four with 286bhp / 295lb ft
Porsche 2.5 flat four with 360bhp /347lb ft

The publication, however, notes that there's some uncertainty surrounding the smaller 1.6-liter unit, as the original plan was to use it on the a new ‘baby Boxster’ model, which has reportedly been canned.

The first Porsche models to get the new flat-fours are said to be the (next?) Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne.

*Note: Porsche 911's flat-six pictured