Volkswagen' s board has reportedly voted to Eliminate the Cayenne from Porsche's lineup, so the 2011 model could be the last go around for the high-performance SUV. The exterior follows in Porsche's philosophy of evolutionary design, but from the pictures – it appears clear that the new model features a much sleeker appearance than the current Cayenne.

With a redesigned interior, following Panamera cues, the 2011 Cayenne sports a new and longer center console and a repositioned shift-knob. Overall, nearly everything has been freshened and tweaked, including placement of the center air vents, sportier gauges and a new steering wheel. The new Cayenne should boast a variety of gasoline, diesel and hybrid engines. On the petrol side, expect the 2011 Cayenne S to come with the Panamera's 4.8-liter V8 engine that delivers 400-hp, while the top-of-the-line Cayenne Turbo should be powered by the Panamera's 4.8-liter biturbo V8 with 500-hp.

In the diesel models, guessing the current Volkswagen V6 TDI engine, which produces 240-hp, to carry over to the next generation with some minor improvements. Considering that Porsche's first Cayenne S hybrid will appear as a 2010 model, its hybrid powertrain should carry over to the 2011 Cayenne virtually unchanged. Power for the hybrid comes from Audi 's supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine that produces 333-horsepower, connected to a three-phase synchronous electric motor which receives power from a 38 kW NiMH battery that resides in the spare tire well.

The new Cayenne is also supposed to adopt a more street focused setup, which means some of the current model's bulky off-road equipment could be dropped in order to make the new one more Porsche-like. Audi took a similar approach when they introduced the Q7 and that model has received rave reviews for offering a decent driving experience despite its large size.