Porsche tests the Cayenne in extreme conditions, both real and virtual.

Artificial intelligence and human factors combine in the ultimate tests of the new Porsche Cayenne. Developed virtually and tested in real life, digital transformation and engineering expertise combine in the new model.

The all-electric SUV will be unveiled at the end of the year and will be offered alongside the current combustion engine and hybrid models. "This project was the first in which we went directly from digital full-vehicle testing to pre-series production," explains Michael Steiner, Vice President and Member of the Board of Management of Porsche AG responsible for Research and Development.

The testing phase with handcrafted prototypes was no longer necessary, as the approximately 120 test vehicles, which are time-consuming to manufacture, were largely replaced by digital equivalents. Engineers developed virtual prototypes for digital test drives right from the design phase.

Simulation and artificial intelligence have radically transformed—and shortened—vehicle testing. This is based on three pillars: precisely digitized routes, from the Nürburgring to everyday traffic; the Weissach engineers' decades of experience in field testing; and the significantly greater computing power of modern systems for real-time simulations.

All of this allowed the engineers not only to visualize the Cayenne digitally, but also to test it directly in a virtual environment. In a development phase where components are initially available in digital format and can therefore be easily modified, the experts used virtual reality (VR) to conduct the first tests of the future generation of the SUV. The results were subsequently verified with test bench tests and real physical components.

For this purpose, a completely new test bench was developed, enabling the combined testing of the drive system, battery, energy management, and charging under realistic conditions. The test bench's four powerful synchronous motors can be programmed to accurately simulate different road conditions, acceleration resistance, and the forces experienced during acceleration and braking. "The machines are so sophisticated that we can even visualize different asphalt surfaces or tire slippage," says engineer Marcus Junige. Ambient conditions can also be fully simulated.

"Our test programs are unique in their requirements," explains Junige. A spectacular example is a lap at the limit on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The virtual prototype provides the necessary information. All simulated impulses are fed into the test bench in real time.

"Under all conditions, the vehicle must always deliver maximum power as soon as the driver demands it," Junige continues. This release of power places particular demands on the high-performance vehicle's thermal management: to optimize the battery under all circumstances, the heating and cooling systems are more powerful than in any previous electric Porsche.

At each point during the lap of the Nürburgring, the values ​​measured on the test bench are compared with those previously calculated for the digital twin. This confirms that the simulation is now so precise that there are hardly any deviations that need to be corrected after the results of the physical tests are obtained.

Despite the simulation's precision, the final adjustment is performed by humans. "In reality, only experts can perform the final fine-tuning," says Sascha Niesen, Head of the Vehicle Test Team at the Porsche Development Center in Weissach.

The importance of driver experience in perfectly balancing driving dynamics and control strategies is particularly evident on the racetrack. Whether in the city, on the highway, or off-road, the electric Cayenne is tested in all usage scenarios. Particular attention is paid to charging management. "Regardless of how the Cayenne is driven, it should always be ready for rapid charging before coming to a stop," says Junige. The vehicle even takes traffic jams into account to optimize energy use.

Testing in extreme climatic conditions poses a particular challenge. In hot regions such as the Gulf States or Death Valley in the USA, the air conditioning and thermal management of the battery and drive system, among other things, had to undergo demanding functional tests at temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius. In Scandinavia, where temperatures reach -35 degrees Celsius, cold starts, air conditioning, traction, driving and braking behavior, and the performance of the driving dynamics-related control systems were part of the test program for pre-production vehicles. And in both climate extremes, the Cayenne Electric had to be able to charge quickly without problems; hardly any other manufacturer places higher demands on its vehicles than Porsche.

Endurance tests simulate a vehicle's lifespan under conditions so harsh that customers would only experience them in extreme situations. The cars travel more than 150,000 kilometers in shifts over a few months, in urban traffic, on secondary roads, and on highways.

From crash labs and endurance courses to extreme testing, the combination of digital preparation and real-world testing is proving its worth across the board. This makes the development process more precise and efficient. Compared to a conventional approach, the development time for the Cayenne Electric was reduced by 20%. At the same time, these cutting-edge virtual tests are also more resource-efficient, thanks to lower material consumption.