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previously graced the engine bayof the GTS variant. With 405hp at6500rpm and 500Nm of torquekicking in at 3500rpm, 6.1 secondsis all it takes to hit 100km/h. Hustleit does.The GTS’ shorter final-drive ratioalso makes a huge difference, andmammoth 6-piston callipers upfront, and 4-piston callipers at therear clamp down on enormousdiscs with the force and bite ofThylacoleo carnifex. For those ofyou who don’t know this beast byname, I am referring to a 25 millionyear-old marsupial lion that livedin Australia during the Ice Age,with the strongest jaws of anyliving or extinct carnivore in thehistory of our planet. There are alimited number of Transsyberia specCayennes in Oman, so eventuallythey may be as rare as ole’ carniflex,too!Off-road prowess is furtherenhanced by the excellent clearancethe car offers, so you can wadein water 555mm deep and attackboulders with conviction. The airsuspension is adjusted electronicallyby the flick of a switch and heightranges from a ‘low level loading’setting to a ‘special terrain’ offroadsetting. In the latter mode Inavigated over a great crevasseriddled with boulders and soft sand.Even though our test car was ridingon performance tyres and optional21” alloys, the Transsyberia clearlydemonstrated dexterity on ruggedterrain.Sure the Cayenne S, and particularlyin this guise, is a fast car, however,it is startling that Porsche havemated exceptional on-roadperformance and supreme handlingwith a more than competentoff-road vehicle. Many originallythought that the Cayenne was abottom line vehicle that wouldultimately rob Porsche of its racingpedigree, performance advantage,and high build quality notoriety -something that almost every othercarmaker out there is still playingcatch-up to. Having driven everymodel year Cayenne S to date, aswell as the GTS, Turbo and TurboS, this special edition Cayenne S isso much more than just a glorified,tarted up Cayenne S. I absolutelyadore this car.The term ‘emergence’ is usedto describe the way complexsystems and patterns arise outof a multiplicity of relativelysimple interactions. It is in effecta term coined by scientists andphilosophers perplexed by howsomething can appear to be greaterthan the sum of its parts. Sure, the2010 Transsyberia Cayenne S wouldmake a great case study for somenerd studying integrative levels andcomplex systems, but for the rest ofus it is a fine example of stunningdesign, luxury and ‘must have’performance all rolled into onestellar vehicle.38 39