Porsche is smarter than pundits who predicted that the end of the world was nigh when it introduced the Cayenne SUV a few years ago. For proof, look at the German sports car maker’s sales figures in North America for 2005. Half of the 33,974 vehicles that rolled into American and Canadian driveways were Cayennes. Half. And that’s in a year when Cayenne sales had cooled – the sport-ute previously accounted for more than that.

But when sales drop, it’s time to inject some new life into the product. You’ve gotta give the customer, in this case a customer with plenty of expendable income, a good reason to trade up. With the 2006 Cayenne Turbo S that debuted at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show today, Porsche has done just that.

Take one 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo, add horsepower and torque, fortify the suspension and brakes, tweak the styling and trim, and you’ve got the new benchmark for performance SUVs: The 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. Perhaps best of all, you don’t have to trade off-road prowess for on-road performance, because, with the right set of tires, a Cayenne can bash boulders as well as most SUVs.

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