Wheel Woman: Wrapped in a 2022 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid Coupé

I’m rocking a new outfit, and everybody is staring. I second-guess myself. Am I wearing the outfit or is the outfit wearing me? It’s no wonder people are staring.

The ‘outfit’ is a 2022 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid Coupe in Carmine Red with screaming acid green brake calipers tucked behind saucy, glossy 22-inch GT wheels.

Lithe lines sweep across the sculpted SUV. This third generation Cayenne was treated to some nips and tucks, making it look more like the iconic 911.

Anyone wearing this outfit, a 2022 Porsche Cayenne Coupé, would be rocking it.

A four-door Porsche? The horror!

When the Cayenne came into existence back in 2002, Porsche aficionados were appalled. An SUV from the storied German luxury sports car brand was NOT going to fly, the pundits pontificated. A four-door Porsche? The horror!

‘That Porsche is sick!’ one young man proclaims from a neighbouring car in a parking lot. (Note: this is a good thing).

Did I think twice about what I would be wearing knowing I would be wrapped in this agile candy-apple red 455-horsepower jungle cat today? Of course!

My fashion sense is tingling, accessories need to coordinate. It’s almost a red-carpet look I’m needing.

I need something elegant but approachable. Racy yet sophisticated. Something sick.

I should have known better than to wear white pants. Dirt mysteriously appeared on them as quickly as the Cayenne shooting from zero to 100 km/h. Which is 5.1 seconds, in case you were wondering.

Some of the questions I ask myself when test-driving: When I approach the parked vehicle, am I proud? Excited? The Porsche Cayenne Coupe? Yes, and yes!!

Inside, the houndstooth seat inserts look classy, the leather touches smell expensive-shoe divine.

The start key to the left of the steering wheel assures me I’m in a Porsche and could hit the track if I so desire. Not that I need extra assurance. Pushing the throttle to the mat gets me going. The E-hybrid version is powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 engine. In addition, an electric motor provides an electric range of up to 50 km. Combined horsepower for the Cayenne is 455.

What a way to ring in September!

With a planned 600-kilometre road trip from Halifax to Prince Edward Island and back, I knew I would get in a full day of driving, accelerating, photographing the shiny red beast.

I love the Cayenne’s calm border-crossing warning. So Euro! Where else in Canada could you hear this four times in a one-day road trip? East Coast, baby.

I pictured Garry and I in some dream future, heading out, a trailer tagging along behind the Cayenne – luxury campgrounds only, please. I knew towing wouldn’t be a problem. After all, there’s a Guinness World Record for towing with the Cayenne’s name on it.

On 1 May 2017, a Porsche Cayenne S Diesel set the Guinness World Record for heaviest aircraft pulled by a production car. The Cayenne towed a 265-ton Air France Airbus A380, breaking the previous 2013 record of a Nissan Patrol towing a 170-ton Ilyushin Il-76.

Not your everyday towing requirements.

Luxury touches in the 2022 Porsche Cayenne Coupé? There had better be.

Forking over $150,000 will get you all the thrill of a Porsche plus the marque’s iconic understated elegance. The warning alerts and chimes sound luxurious. The stiff, laser-precise suspension is high-class.

Luckily, the $1,100 wallet that wraps its premium carbon-fibre self around the owner’s manual is included in the Premium Plus Sport Package.

I realize how lucky I am to be behind the wheel and wrapped in a 2022 Cayenne E-Hybrid Coupe for a day. At the end of the drive, I feel exhilarated, mature and sophisticated. Matching my outfit to the sizzling SUV may be frivolous and juvenile but, hey, the key fob painted in the same lustrous red as the Cayenne is playing my game, too.