Video: Richard Hammond tries out Porsche Cayenne EV

The all-electric Porsche Cayenne hasn’t properly debuted yet, but the famous host of Top Gear and The Grand Tour has already jumped on the promo bandwagon.

Hammond demonstrated the towing capabilities of the battery-powered SUV by transporting a vintage vehicle said to be over 100 years old. For its own part, Porsche revealed that the SUV had set its first record in motorsports, and confirmed launch in 2026.

Great towing capacity seems to be one of the main marketing points of the Cayenne EV right now. Richard Hammond has a car restoration shop running, so he should be able to judge whether any given car is suitable for towing. In the video, he had a trailer that weighed around 3 metric tons (6,600 lbs) with the car on it. The Cayenne EV is officially rated for up to 3.5 metric tons (7,700 lbs).

Another part of the video has the SUV ascending a hill in Shelsley Walsh, UK. This village has hosted hill climb races since 1905 and is officially considered one of the world’s oldest locations for this particular sports. Driven by Formula E participant  Gabriela Jílková, it managed the tricky kilometer-long track in 31.28 seconds, beating the SUV best time there by more than four seconds.

According to Porsche, an active chassis with roll suppression is what makes the Cayenne EV so stable in precarious corners. The company has yet to reveal any further details, though. All we know is that the vehicle that ascended the hill was nearly stock in terms of both powertrain and ECU. Rumors suggest the flagship spec may bring at least 1,000 horsepower to the table, and it looks plausible based on the video.