What could have been and was not. There are models that have been designed to make history and sometimes, it has not been possible to be due to the technical peculiarities that have been found in their development. Not even the most important brands in the automotive sector generate a revolutionary model that allows you to write your name in the history books. Porsche has made history thanks to models like the Cayenne, which since its launch in 2002, have been thinking about different configurations, including a convertible that finally had to be discarded due to many complications during the design.
This option was not ruled out from the first moment, so much so, that the convertible option that was the least conventional in a model of 4.8 meters long, a unit was built and kept in the Porsche museum. It should be noted that this model was not designed to enjoy on the road, but has been raised to enjoy it in closed test tracks, as it is a very peculia model. The designers removed the roof, but dispensed with the necessary measures of rigidity for the body of a cabriolet.
This model had the exclusivity that if it were to be produced, a single rear design would be chosen and technical problems would be solved. It should be noted that this model of white roof had a mechanism that was hooked from the front and rear. The hood would move over the fixed safety arch and would be housed in the rear, where the trunk lid would open in the opposite direction, and said hood would fold in a Z-shape. In this way, it would opt for a solution of the Porsche 911 Targa.
While the idea of the 2002 coupe was later taken up again and implemented in 2019 in a successful production Cayenne, Porsche did not go ahead with the convertible alternative. Profitability forecasts were not particularly rosy and there were doubts as to whether the car would prove as attractive as a Porsche should be. “A convertible SUV is a challenge both aesthetically and formally”, explains Michael Mauer, who was not yet responsible for design in 2002, analyzing the concept today. “An SUV always has a big, heavy body. If you combine this with a small top half of the vehicle and then cut the roof, you get very strange shapes.”
