Just because the Cayenne's tow rating is under 10,000 pounds doesn't mean it isn't capable of some spectacular one-off feats, like towing an airplane.
Porsche used a European-spec 2017 Cayenne S Diesel to earn the Guinness World Record for the heaviest aircraft pulled by a production car. It pulled an Air France Airbus A380, which weighs about 285 metric tons (approximately 628,000 pounds). The previous record holder pulled just 170 metric tons, so this is a big improvement.
The Cayenne was not modified to achieve this record. It used a standard tow bar, to which a special towing attachment was secured. After all, there's no off-the-shelf solution when you decide to tow an airliner with a bone-stock Porsche sport ute.
The Cayenne diesel's engine puts out about 375 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. Just to make sure it wasn't a lucky fluke, Porsche repeated the tow using a Cayenne Turbo S. While this definitely proves the towing capability of a Porsche Cayenne, I think it's safe to say owners shouldn't be trying this at home.


