Porsche Cayanne GTS Design Edition 3: Skunkwerks special

Porsche's industrial design studio in Zell am See, Austria, heretofore has produced such limited edition sports cars as the Cayman S Design Edition 1 and Boxster S Design Edition 2 for its more discriminating customers. Now the German automaker has turned its stylists loose on an SUV resulting in the Cayanne GTS Design Edition 3 revealed late last week.

The majority of the 1000 unit production run is earmarked for Europe. However, 100 will appear in selected U.S. Porsche showrooms late this summer, bearing an $89k MSRP sticker.

The dark door striping and Lava Grey Metallic paint are carried over from Design Editions 1 and 2. The true Porschephile will want the complete set.

In addition to a tasteful array of cosmetic features including 21-inch SportPlus Lava Grey wheels, the Design Edition 3 does have the Sport Exhaust System as standard equipment on the 405-horsepower, 4.8-liter V8. In truth, the Cayanne GTS was a pretty sporty SUV before visiting Zell am See. But then the M1A1 Cayanne GTS does not come with Design Edition accessories, like the gotta-have custom wrist chronograph and matching 4-piece luggage set.