Porsche Cayenne Facelift spied for the first time, caught in the open

Changes are coming for the Porsche Cayenne. The robust Stuttgart SUV will still be easily recognizable, but the current generation needs an update and these new spy photos give us our first taste of what that means. Our spy team was lucky to catch this prototype discovered in broad daylight, although Porsche still uses some tricks to hide details. However, it is not enough to prevent us from seeing the big picture.

As is often the case with a vehicle upgrade, external changes are relegated back and forth. Thinner headlights are coming for the Cayenne, although Porsche uses a bit of shiny tape against the black finish to try to disguise the smaller lenses. New headlights mean new front fenders and a new hood, the last of which looks more sculpted with sharper creases to the body lines running behind the lights. AND clear the front panel grille is bigger – this is certainly the trend of automakers today, and the design adds some aggression to the Cayenne’s face.

From there, we call our attention back, where we see much obvious replacement lamps for new taillights. It is impossible to figure out what the new rear lights will look like, but it looks like most of the lights will now be on the rear panels, as opposed to the rear door. In fact, the rear door and lower front panel are completely different, with the number plate moving down and the gate looking much narrower.

At this early stage, we didn’t hear anything about updates inside, but it’s not absurd to expect a slightly larger touchscreen. The center console and shift rod are also likely to be upgraded to match other models in the line. Likewise, information about any changes to the powertrain is still unknown. The Cayenne’s current line ranges from merely fast to incredibly fast, and there’s no reason to expect that to change.

Finally, we reached the deadlines for a revelation and this is also a mystery at this point. This being our first sighting and the prototype is still using replacement components, a debut later this year as a 2022 or 2023 model is more likely.