Porsche is preparing the new Cayenne for its launch. Until then, the prototypes and pre-production vehicles are being subjected to challenging endurance tests to ensure that they meet Porsche’s high quality standards. Following its launch in 2017, Porsche has consistently enhanced the third generation of the Cayenne with far-reaching measures affecting its powertrain, chassis, design, equipment and connectivity.

“It’s one of the most extensive product upgrades in the history of Porsche,” said series manager Michael Schätzle. In addition to realigning the drive portfolio, the engineers at the Porsche Development Centre in Weissach made major revisions to the Cayenne’s chassis system. The aim was to achieve an even wider range between the typical Porsche on-road performance, long-distance comfort and off-road capability. 

To this end, the Cayenne will feature, among other things, a new, semi-active chassis. In addition, drivers and passengers will be treated to a new and extensively digitalised display and operating concept with enhanced connectivity functions. Innovative lighting technology in the HD-Matrix LED headlights enhances both comfort and safety in the new Porsche Cayenne.

With so many new technologies, complex and elaborate testing was required in order to perfectly tune the components, most of which were completely new developments.

“We’re subjecting the new Cayenne to a complete and comprehensive testing programme, just as if it we’d developed it from scratch,” explained test manager Ralf Bosch. Alongside increasingly accurate virtual simulations, real-life testing is still a high priority for Porsche. It represents the test of whether any new model is ready for launch. During what we call complete vehicle testing, the aim is to ensure the operational stability and functionality of all components and systems as they interact – in situations that the customer experiences and far beyond. 

In the course of endurance tests, a vehicle’s life is simulated under the tough conditions that are only rarely experienced in the customer’s hands. Under everyday conditions, the vehicles complete well over 200,000 kilometres in urban traffic, on country roads and on motorways within a few months.

To simulate extreme conditions, the prototypes also travel around the world, with the aim being to put their quality and durability to the test in different climate zones. For the new Cayenne, tests took place in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. In total, more than four million test kilometres were covered.

“What we demand from the new Cayenne in tough off-road tests in Spain, on punishing sand dunes in Morocco, or during highly dynamic drives on ice tracks in Finland and on the Nürburgring Nordschleife isn’t something we presume many customers will ever do,” said Dirk Lersch, who leads the prototype assembly and testing team for the Cayenne. “But anyone who purchases a Porsche should know that it can withstand exceptionally high loads – regardless of the surface being driven on.”

Motors Inc.’s ambition to be innovative and first reached a new level last week, with the presentation of a unique super sports car – the Maserati MC20 – which now proudly forms part of an array of luxury vehicles under the Motors Inc. Approved Used flag.

The Maserati MC20 has been described as the super sports car that pushes the boundaries of time, with a mid-engine, housed in a light body, ensuring a prodigious power to weight ratio, for a jaw dropping acceleration and top speed.

This car confirms yet again the triumph of Italian motorsport engineering. The MC20 boasts a hi-tech, ultra-light carbon fibre monocoque, developed and designed to make the vehicle stronger, faster, and dynamically phenomenal thanks to its high torsional and bending stiffness.

A one-of-a-kind in Malta, this hot-blooded pure-bred can be viewed at the Motors Inc. showrooms in Mdina Road Qormi, open Monday to Friday from 9am till 6pm and Saturdays from 9am till 12pm.

The series development process of the BMW i7 is entering its final phase with the car undergoing a demanding test programme in extreme road and weather conditions. During so-called hot-region testing on tracks and public roads all over the world, the development engineers primarily verify the performance and reliability of the electric motors, the all-wheel drive and the high-voltage battery when being exposed to maximum stress from high temperatures, unpaved roads, dust and large differences in altitude. The road to series production takes the prototypes of the BMW i7 over gravel tracks into deserts, into the mountains and on a whole series of highly dynamic routes. The BMW i7, the world’s only purely electrically powered luxury sedan, will be presented in the course of 2022 together with other model variants of the new BMW 7 Series.

The endurance test in the hot regions of various countries and continents serves in particular to test and safeguard all components of the electric drive system. The components of the fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology developed for the BMW i7 demonstrate their unrestricted functionality even under the most adverse conditions when being used continuously in extremely high outside temperatures, permanent sunlight and dry conditions.

Within a firmly defined test programme for the prototypes, loads are simulated that correspond to the challenges faced by a series-production vehicle during a complete product life cycle. Supported by sensitive on-board measurement technology, experienced test engineers register every reaction of the electric motors, the high-voltage battery, drive control and the integrated cooling system as well as the charging technology and energy management to weather and road-related influences.

The testing programme, which covers tens of thousands of kilometres, includes long-distance and high-speed driving as well as stop-and-go traffic in scorching heat. In addition, test sections with particularly large differences in altitude were selected at the hot-region test sites. In this way the temperature behaviour of the electric motors and the torque control of the all-electric BMW xDrive can be analysed during a particularly dynamic and long-lasting uphill drive. To further increase the load on the drive system, the test programme also includes mountain driving in trailer mode. At the same time, the high-voltage battery shows how it able to continuously deliver peak power to supply the e-motors. As an extreme scenario and a particular challenge for energy management and power electronics, the test also involves driving downhill with a high-voltage storage system that is already fully charged at the start and can therefore no longer absorb any recuperation energy.

The gruelling hot-region test procedure is also used to put the performance of the air-conditioning and other on-board electronics, as well as the temperature resistance of the materials used in the interior, to a particularly tough test. This is all to ensure that the world’s only purely electrically powered luxury sedan delivers a perfectly harmonised and exclusive driving experience in any situation.