A speedometer marked in increments of 50, an electronic boost gauge, oil temperature and pressure gauges, the word Turbo suggestively spread along the rev counter, and lipstick-red needles on all dials.
You wouldn't think I'm talking about an SUV, would you?
One thing's for sure though, this isn't your average SUV. What you see here is Porsche's range-topping Cayenne Turbo, running a demonic 4.8-litre bi-turbo petrol V8 pushing 368kW and 700Nm, mated to an 8-speed box.
The Stuttgart carmaker claims the 2 245kg behemoth will get from standstill to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds before topping out at 278km/h and, being the first publication in the country to road test the weighty beast, we were keen to see how close we got to the claims.
So we strapped in our VBox testing equipment and headed off to our test facility near Pretoria to see if the Cayenne's bite was as loud as its bark. And yes, acceleration is seriously brutal, we managed an insane 4.8 second 0-100km/h time, nailing down the quarter mile in an equally impressive 13 seconds flat.
With a tiny spurt of tyre chirp, with the boost gauge peaking at just under 1 bar in every gear, the all-wheel drive beast surges forward.
Setting the Cayenne Turbo up for a run is also quick and easy. Hit the Sport button and the chassis gets tightened, the gearbox keeps the lowest gear, and the throttle gets sharper; then hit the traction-control button for zero hesitation from the wheels.
Spending a weekend in the supercar-on-stilts measures highly on the personal Richter scale. Turning the key awakens a vociferous beast, with a sound track not strangled even though it's force-fed.
From the first time you prod the loud pedal you start forming a healthy dose of respect for this Porsche, wondering every time you slice through a corner how this could possibly be classified as an SUV.
Don't get me wrong, it's not exactly 911 surgical in its driving dynamics, but you can feel the Porsche DNA doing its thing - it's as sporty as Porsche could have possibly gone based on the law of physics. Being allowed to lower and stiffen suspension, and in manual mode actually holding a gear on the limiter, are both real treats. The over 16l/100km consumption (the Cayenne hardly ever gets into fuel-saving 8th gear), not so much.
The second-generation Cayenne is still not exactly a winner in the looks department but looks angrier than its predecessor - especially in black, with that huge front air dam, 20-inch wheels, and chunky yellow brake calipers holding onto huge (optional) carbon ceramic discs.
It's also bigger and more spacious than before (not taller though) with the engineers managing to shed 185kg of weight. The overall shape, with those wide shoulders and bulky front wings, doesn't look as obtrusive as before, with attention drawn more to that sharper nose. Some would argue that the new Cayenne actually looks smaller than before. It's also more traditional in some respects in that the badge now sits on the bonnet, unlike on the bumper cover previously.
Power outputs are identical to the previous Turbo, and at R1 430 000 pricing stays the same.
Bigger changes lie on the inside. Get in and the seats grip just about as much as Recaros would, complete with centre console grab handles for driver and front passenger. The big centre rev counter is very 911, and there's a permanent digital speedometer below as the analogue one, specced in 50s, isn't very spiedkop friendly.
But retro is one thing, old technology another, and the new Cayenne is still a generation behind in terms of a user-interface. Instead of a centralised system like Audi's MMI or BMW's iDrive, the Porsche has a busy scatter of stalks and buttons. And our test unit had one or two interior rattles, which isn't promising for the price or the very low mileage.
But overall this is an SUV with a seriously dark side, happy to drop kids off at school, spend an hour exercising on a track, and smoke an M3 on the way home.
Who can argue with that? -Star Motoring