This particular spy video featuring a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT test vehicle actually serves two purposes. The obvious purpose is to offer a preview of changes coming to the super SUV, which at a glance appear rather minor. However, that's the other purpose of this video – to showcase how clever Porsche can be with its use of black tape to hide larger changes.
Let's address the first point. This isn't the first time we've seen the facelifted Cayenne out and about in top-tier Turbo GT trim. For that matter, it's not the first time we've seen it up-close, either. Having only debuted in 2021, Porsche has the fast SUV fast-tracked for an update, and it's easy to see with the Taycan-themed headlights. Aside from the internal structure changing, the light housings will shrink slightly and adopt a more rectangular appearance. Porsche attempts to disguise that with tape around the lens, making them look larger than they actually are.
The opposite could be true with the taillights. Red tape attempts to mimic the current notched design of the center strip that spans the rear gate. A close look suggests the new center section might eliminate the notch, keeping a thicker light connecting the lenses at the corners. There is black tape in the mix too, applied liberally on those corner lenses to throw off the actual design. In any case, it won't be a dramatic shift from the current Cayenne.
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As for the second purpose of this video, it manages to catch two prototypes bumping along at slow speeds. Fortunately for us, the camera lingers at the front fascia for some time and it reveals lots of black tape around those large corner vents. In fact, there could also be some black wrap in there, hiding new body lines or even a smaller side scoop just ahead of the fender flare. That's something you likely wouldn't notice if you weren't up close in stop-and-go traffic, and with the coverings blending with the black finish of the prototype, you wouldn't even realize something was different.
So we know the forthcoming Cayenne facelift will include more than just updated lights, but when will it arrive? The Turbo GT may not be revealed until sometime after other Cayenne models, but it could arrive as either a 2023 or 2024 model.
