Porsche is readying its new Cajun, short for Cayenne junior. Every bit as spicy as its bigger brother, the Cajun CUV (compact utility vehicle or coupé ute) is scheduled to go into production in spring 2013 - but you can see it two years early in our artist's impression.

The sporty crossover is based on the-then facelifted Audi Q5. Audi would reportedly prefer Porsche to concentrate on an even more dynamic standalone three-door version, but the Weissach dream team claims it needs the volume generated by the four-door model to warrant the postulated double-digit profit margin.
Uh-oh. So Porsche is moving further away from sports cars and building yet more SUVs?

Yep. While the old regime was strictly against the Cajun, warning that it would cannibalise the even more profitable Cayenne, the new boss Mathias Müller sees the car as a licence to print money and as an opportunity to boost the output by approximately 50,000 units a year. According to the still provisional launch plan, we shall first see the full-size four-door coupé and then in late 2014 the two-door version based on a shortened platform.

The Cajun will be derived from a components set known as MLB wide which is broader and thus potentially more aggressive than the Q5. Having said that, the key dimensions don't vary dramatically.

So how big is the new 2013 Porsche Cajun?

The rear overhang will be cut by 30mm, the roof comes down by 20mm, and the width increases by 15mm. What makes a difference are the bigger tyres with a strong emphasis on redesigned 19- and 20-inch rims. All exterior and interior panels will of course be styled from scratch, but the windscreen angle, the firewall and the roof pillars have to remain as they are. CAR's artist's impression shows what to expect.

To ensure a sports car-like driving position, the Cajun receives bespoke seats, a less steeply raked steering column and the dashboard of the new Boxster complete with instrumentation, infotainment and the traditional offset ignition lock. The substantial centre stack rises at an angle, Panamera-style.

Although the base model is a four-seater, a 4+1 rear seat will be available as an option. The head- and taillights are of the high-intensity LED matrix beam kind. Together with the body structure of the Q5, the Porsche Cajun will carry over the chassis, steering, axles, quattro drivetrain, six- and seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions as well as the engines, albeit in modified form.