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The Turbo S which also completed this feat is the only SUV to crack 8 min mark around the Nürburgring, so yes, it does do something no other SUV can. That and it "pulled" a jet a record distance. Hey, it's never been done before also besides it's diesel brother. See, there's two things! Until someone else goes and hooks up to same plane and pulls it 138 ft it'll be the only ones.
You're still dodging the point on purpose because you know that this is just a marketing gimmick. Fifth Gear pulled a similar plane with a VW Touraeg. So no... it's not the first. What Porsche didn't tell you is that in order to move the plane it needed the Cayenne to be extremely heavy. The Touraeg had to carry 4.3 TONS of sandbags in the back and inflate the tires to twice the operational pressure so that it could gain traction enough to move the plane. Moving a mass across flat ground is not the same as towing the plane (carrying the actual weight). Humans have pulled planes with nothing more than their legs and a steel cable. Once you get past the friction point and the plane begins rolling you are then only maintaining the movement, which requires very little effort.
Here's why this feat isn't impressive or relevant to the real world.
1. How many people buy a diesel suv to race it around the Nurburgring or race like they are at the Nurburgring while commuting to work every day?
2. How many people buy a diesel suv to pull an airplane to work?
As I said before.... just because they were the first people to have Guiness come in and record the event does not mean they are the only ones who have done it or who can do it. The Tundra pulled a space shuttle. It didn't help them one bit because people with common sense knows that isn't a real world application.
I own a diesel and in the diesel world that little toy is not impressive by diesel standards. When it can TOW 20k lbs over terrain without grenading the driveline then maybe diesel people will be impressed.
What Porsche didn't tell you is that in order to move the plane it needed the Cayenne to be extremely heavy. The Touraeg had to carry 4.3 TONS of sandbags in the back and inflate the tires to twice the operational pressure so that it could gain traction enough to move the plane.
No, they didn't. It was completely stock. They didn't weigh it down.
I own a diesel and in the diesel world that little toy is not impressive by diesel standards. When it can TOW 20k lbs over terrain without grenading the driveline then maybe diesel people will be impressed.
The Cayenne is a midsize vehicle. It's towing capacity is limited by it's physical size, not it's engine. Here's what happens when a diesel with greater towing capacity goes head to head with one. (Touareg.)
The Cayenne is a midsize vehicle. It's towing capacity is limited by it's physical size, not it's engine. Here's what happens when a diesel with greater towing capacity goes head to head with one. (Touareg.)
It doesn't say the Porsche wasn't weighed down. It only says it was not modified. Adding weight to a vehicle is not a modification. A modification would be adding stabilizer bars, traction bars, etc..
I have a difficult time believing the car could gain any sort of traction without added weight to the rear. The likelihood of it pulling that plane with no weight holding the car down is very slim. It would more than likely have a very difficult time gaining enough traction to overcome static friction.
Regardless, IF they did manage to overcome static friction and get the plane moving without roasting the tires of the car once the plane is moving it is much easier to maintain a rolling friction. As stated before, there aren't many vehicles who couldn't do the same thing if they get the plane rolling.
I don't get why some feel like this is some astounding feat that has never been attempted before.
It doesn't say the Porsche wasn't weighed down. It only says it was not modified. Adding weight to a vehicle is not a modification. A modification would be adding stabilizer bars, traction bars, etc..
Yes, it DOES say that it wasn't weighted down. From the link:
"How did the Cayenne even get traction? The towing arm connected to the front wheels of the A380, which attached to a stock towing hitch on the Cayenne, helped keep all four wheels firmly planted. Still, in the video, you can see that the nose of the Cayenne lifted up a bit at 'takeoff.'"
You can just look at the suspension. It's not bottomed out from adding weight, and you can also see there is nothing in the cargo area. It's at stock ride height.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nlambert
I have a difficult time believing the car could gain any sort of traction without added weight to the rear. The likelihood of it pulling that plane with no weight holding the car down is very slim. It would more than likely have a very difficult time gaining enough traction to overcome static friction.
...And that's why you fail to see this as impressive. It was STOCK.
But you know, there's a guy on here with a Volvo that thinks he can do it, so I guess it's pretty easily done.
Yes, it DOES say that it wasn't weighted down. From the link:
"How did the Cayenne even get traction? The towing arm connected to the front wheels of the A380, which attached to a stock towing hitch on the Cayenne, helped keep all four wheels firmly planted. Still, in the video, you can see that the nose of the Cayenne lifted up a bit at 'takeoff.'"
You can just look at the suspension. It's not bottomed out from adding weight, and you can also see there is nothing in the cargo area. It's at stock ride height.
...And that's why you fail to see this as impressive. It was STOCK.
But you know, there's a guy on here with a Volvo that thinks he can do it, so I guess it's pretty easily done.
Here's where you're getting hung up.
You seem to think the Porsche was pulling 610,000 lbs of weight, right? After all that is the weight of an A380. That is FAR from reality though.
There are formulas to calculate drawbar pull of a vehicle to determine how much it can pull.
Without boring you with the formulas (you can easily look them up) the drawbar pulling weight required of the Cayenne pulling the A380 is 1,310 lbs. That factors in the GVW of the Cayenne and the A380, rolling resistance, torque, gear reduction, and radius of the tires.
When you realize that the Cayenne only had to pull roughly 1,310 lbs you quickly realize how easy this can be done. The car had plenty of torque to get it moving (as do many other cars) and plenty of power to keep it in motion once moving. As I told you before ,this is a marketing gimmick and is not some miraculous feat. Don't drink the Kool-Aid.
Until another manufacturer does it, it's miraculous enough to be a Guiness World Record for Towing by a production passenger car.
I'd like to see your calculations, by the way. Show us how you arrived at 1,310 lbs. (You just happen to know the rolling resistance for an Airbus 380's tires do you? Right...) Keeping something moving once it's started rolling IS easy... that's not what makes this impressive. It's getting it STARTED, and most cars would only be spinning their wheels or blowing up their rear ends.
When you realize that the Cayenne only had to pull roughly 1,310 lbs you quickly realize how easy this can be done.
Furthermore, since you say it only had to pull 1,310 lbs... Then why were you saying they had to load the back of the Cayenne with TONS of weight? As in at least 4,000 lbs?
Sorry, your calculations are as incorrect as your assumptions.
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That and it "pulled" a jet a record distance. Hey, it's never been done before also besides it's diesel brother. See, there's two things! Until someone else goes and hooks up to same plane and pulls it 138 ft it'll be the only ones. 
