ATLANTA, April 28 -- Porsche Cars North America Inc. today announced that its third Cayenne model, simply named Cayenne and powered by a six-cylinder engine, receives a six-speed manual gearbox in the 2005 model year. Porsche announced a U.S. base MSRP of $41,100 for the new model, and it also announced new U.S. base MSRPs for the entire Cayenne model line.

Beginning in June 2004, the U.S. base MSRPs are as follows: Cayenne with Tiptronic automatic transmission, $44,100; Cayenne S, $56,300; and Cayenne Turbo, $89,300. This reflects a 2.8 percent, .7 percent and .4 percent increase over the previous Cayenne, Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo MSRPs, respectively.

The newly developed six-speed manual gearbox has an aluminum gearbox casing and a familiar Porsche gearshift pattern. Like Porsche's sports cars, the Cayenne manual gearbox features a short-throw action, and reverse is in its own gate at the front left and is fitted with a spring lock to prevent unintentional shifts.

The Cayenne with a manual gearbox features the same standard-setting on- and off-pavement capabilities of its V8-powered siblings and accelerates from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in 9.1 seconds (compared to 9.7 seconds for the Cayenne with the Tiptronic(R) S automatic transmission). Both Cayenne models have a top test track speed of 133 mph (214 km/h). This latest addition to the Cayenne line expands Porsche's potential customer base within the high-end SUV segment and provides more opportunities for Porsche's 204 North American dealers.

This new Cayenne model also introduces the Porsche Drive-Off Assistant (PDOA) system, which enables the driver to easily set the Cayenne in forward or reverse motion on steep gradients. With the engine running and the vehicle at a standstill, the driver can engage a gear using the clutch and brake pedals and PDOA automatically maintains brake pressure when the driver releases the brake pedal or parking brake. Once the driver begins to engage the clutch, PDOA releases the brake pressure and allows the Cayenne to set off smoothly. If the driver interrupts the process, PDOA immediately applies brake pressure. Since PDOA is not intended to replace the parking brake, the system is deactivated when the engine is switched off.

All 2005 Cayenne models now feature electronically closing rear tailgates and body colored lower side sill and front and rear panels.