R E D H O T S I L L Y P E P P E R

Left, from top You’re not supposed to be able to drive like this in an SUV – are you? Turns out there was rather more Porsche in the Cayenne than some gave it credit for

IF THE CAYENNE can get within 5sec of the Evo it will be a miracle The thought of fast lapping in the Cayenne blurs the emotional boundaries between fear and excitement like few cars I’ve driven Fear at attempting to ask a 2½-tonne SUV to do something it doesn’t want to do and having the Mother Of All Accidents; excitement at the prospect of taking those liberties to see just how fast this extraordinary machine can go

You certainly get a different perspective of the circuit from such a lofty driving position, and it takes a couple of slow laps to adapt my brain to the altered visual cues for braking and turn-in points At the end of our second warm-up lap, my right foot finds the carpet and we embark upon the most surreal three laps I have ever experienced

Despiteitsbulk,theCayenneisexplosivelyaccelerative, and we ’ re carrying serious speed as Hangar hairpin surges into view How much can I expect of the massive eightpot 350mm front and 330mm rear brakes? The answer is a lot more than I’ve given them credit for, as the bluffnosed Porsche is well within itself as we turn in Back on the power and the twin-turbo V8 delivers a hammer blow of seamless and seemingly endless acceleration along the short straight between Hangar and the awkward Club Chicane Astonishingly, the Porsche jinks through the left-right-left with genuine enthusiasm, holding a tight line on the entry to the Palmer Curves

As the corner speed builds you can sense the momentum at work, and you need to be ultra-neat with the steering to avoid overwhelming the outside tyres, which are being worked fearfully hard by the lateral loading By the time we ’ re braking for the Pif-Paf chicane the Cayenne has hit 102mph, a velocity that tests the brakes to the limit. The margin between total control and total panic is down to Rizla-like tolerances at this point, but even when I comprehensively out-brake myself it’s still possible to thread the Porsche through without taking to the grass And all this before the really big challenges on the West Circuit: the deceptively quick lefthander, O’Rouge, followed almost immediately by the butt-clenching right-hander, Tower

It seems inconceivable that the Cayenne will retain its composure during such sustained, high-velocity cornering Ireckonaconventionalapproachtoturning-in results in understeer so, confident of the Cayenne’s responsiveness to the throttle and the fact that we ’ ve got this far without turning turtle, it seems appropriate to try to provoke some lift-off oversteer into O’Rouge Sure enough the tail slews, the Cayenne hunkers onto its right-hand tyres then, as I reapply the power, astonishingly, it settles into a poised, controlled fourwheel drift. Blown away by the surreality of it all, I tackle Tower in much the same fashion I am dumbstruck

We’ve achieved a best lap of 1.26.85: just 4.0sec slower than the Mistubishi and exactly as fast as a BMW M3. I wonder if it walks on water, too End

Jaguar XK 120 PPE 101, featured in this edition of Octane was yet another labour of love for world renowned restoration company Classic Motor Cars Limited.

The only company to have won the coveted Octane restoration of the year on two occasions. The company, based in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, carried out a sympathetic recommission of the car, whilst ensuring it was ready for any rally or endurance event the future may hold.

You can trust CMC to carry out just about anything for your classic, supercar, or prestige vehicle in our extensive workshops, including trim, panel, engine, electrical and paint.

We understand that every car is different, we also understand the requirements of every one of our customers is different. Whether it be a full restoration on their cherished possession, a problem-solving issue, a simple service or a sympathetic recommission like we carried out on PPE 101.

All work is carried out to the same exacting standards for which we have won six major industry awards

Whatever it is, our dedicated team of technicians are ready to help.