However, true to its tradition, the German maker of some of the most evocative sports cars the world has ever seen, went about accomplishing the same end result not by adding even more cubic inches but by tweaking the twin turbos to deliver even more boost and also via more efficient intercooling.

The press releases which I was reading on the plane enroute to Dubai stated that the Cayenne S Turbo was now the most powerful as well as the fastest SUV in the world and this aspect was what started the "will it, won't it" dilemma in my mind. Fast on the black tops are what Porsches since time immemorial are all about, but fast on the soft sandy dune sections in the sandy tracts of the UAE desert? - it truly boggled the mind.

What I had been comprehending then was only in terms of power and speed and thrust. Capability was something which had been overpowered and therefore absent in the subconscious. Sure I went about the notions in the pre-event technical briefing at the Bab-Al-Shams desert resort on the periphery of Dubai and knew that Porsche had made a most efficient car even more functionally elaborate even when it wasn't needed - what was the point seemed to be the question.

Well, we were soon to find out as we set out to tackle tarmac and sand. The first part of the drive was all tarmac, a 97km run down to the Dubai Desert Conservancy where the mighty accomplished crew from Arabian Adventures had chalked out a very long course in the desert.

The drive from Bab-Al-Shams to the Dubai Desert Conservancy brought out the best on-road behaviour of the Cayenne S Turbo. Repeatedly, the car was able to do the double ton in the blink of an eye and with the lack of body roll firmly registering in the mind, one was able to go even deeper on the loud pedal. 220 became 240 and then 260 and yes, there was no way one could have any disputes with Porsche on the 270km/h top speed claim it made for the new Cayenne. Not only does this sort of a speed see off the likes of the BMW X5 but when you have the capability to see off a Mercedes-Benz SL500 from standstill, it does make you shake your head in disbelief.

This happens even more forcefully when the large 2355kg (unladen) behemoth effortlessly keeps a BMW M3 honest in the twisties and you know that this glorious excess is not a mirage but fact. How could anything this huge be so damned quick? No wonder this fact further aggravates the bad blood which Porsche has whipped up against the purists who to this day haven't digested the need for Porsche to do such a car. Or for the Cayenne to be this successful where it matters - in the US - and for the contrived design (a Porsche coat of arms on abominable clothes covering what is essentially the VW Touareg underneath). And mainly for the fact that a car so large, so out of tune with sensibilities could be so frighteningly good.  

The new Cayenne Turbo S is based on the previous Cayenne Turbo and the 4511cc V8 engine now develops 71 horses more at 521PS at 5500rpm. However, it is not about just maxing up the power output. The Porsche boffins have truly excelled in making the same engine now develop an additional 100Nm of torque. Peak torque is now bumped to a gut wrenching 720Nm. This prodigious twister is on call all the way from 2750 to 3750rpm and truly makes mincemeat of not just the SUV set but makes many top notch sports cars hide their heads in shame. Offends the very purists as well because it is hard to believe that an SUV is now the second most powerful Porsche production car ever (after the V10-engined Carrera GT which has just completed its production run).

Key to the enhanced engine performance has been the revised placings of the new intercoolers and also the boost having been turned up appreciably. The new intercoolers have been fitted between the twin turbochargers and the throttle butterfly and these are now made entirely of aluminium. Porsche engineers have also revised the boost pressures (up to 1.9 bar now depending on speed and throttle position) along with resultant new ignition angles and valve timing. What is truly amazing is the drive from low down, credit this to almost 620Nm of torque being on call from as low as 2000rpm and from then on things just start getting better and better or more out of hand - depends whether you are a cynic or a reveller in such matters.

To go along with the added thrust and torque force, the suspension and the brakes have been given a major once over as well. The integrated self-levelling air-suspension, apart from providing consistent ground clearance irrespective of the load it is carrying, is also programmed to lower in two stages depending on the speed the car is carrying. There are six different air suspension settings to choose from (including Comfort, Normal and Sport programs) and very clever electronic controls make for a safer ride and also benefit the aerodynamics. The ride height gets lowered automatically by 27mm beneath the normal level at speeds of up to 125km/h or more. As the speed gets progressively higher to about the 210km/h mark, the ride height is further lowered by another 11mm. No wonder the stability and poise of the Cayenne Turbo S are exemplary.

Porsche's Active Suspension Management (PASM) is standard on the car which, thanks to inputs from three accelerometers detecting wheel and body movements, quickly inhibits any body roll and keeps things firmly in check during spirited driving on the road and also while thundering through rough terrain.

To go along with the enhanced performance, the brakes have been beefed up as well. Larger 380mm dia discs (up from 350mm dia) made from grey cast iron friction rings along with enlarged six aluminium monobloc brake calliper pistons on each of them hammer away to bring the car to a halt or under control with the minimum of fuss or dramatics. The need to accommodate the larger disc brakes means a move up to even larger wheels. The Cayenne Turbo S now comes with 20-inch Sport Techno wheels carrying 275/40 Y-rated tyres as standard. Tyre pressure control system is standard as well and this also uses clever electronics to keep pressures firmly in tune without getting spooked by the natural change of pressure as a function of temperature.

All these changes have manifested in the brick-like all-wheel drive SUV getting missile-like thrust! Where the earlier Cayenne Turbo used to do the zero to 100km/h sprint in 5.6 seconds, it now dispatches this in 5.2 seconds. From 80 to 120km/h in fifth is now accomplished in 5.4 seconds and not 6.1. Top whack is now 270km/h - up from 266km/h - and it all seems surreal because the leech like grip of the car when hustling through any type of road just belies its size and girth and height, not to mention weight. No wonder the purists scream and shout because they have no leg to stand on. The Cayenne Turbo S takes off nonchalantly and cleans up without even working up a sweat.

Brings me to the desert though because that was where I thought it would all fall apart. Let me tell you right here and now that I was shattered when it didn't! As soon as we turned into the wide expanse of the Dubai Desert Conservancy, the intrepid instructors from Arabian Adventures reduced tyre pressure on the standard road going tyres we have driven on to just under one bar. Flicking a paddle on the centre console to switch on the appropriate reduction gear for the terrain - this time large sandy tracts with huge dunes, some of them being as tall as 50 metres high - and we were ready to tackle not just the multitude of dunes that dot Margham and Nizwa but also the famed Big Red dune (so named thanks to the grains of red iron oxide prevalent in this section of the UAE desert that give the sand a reddish hue).