Porsche has pre-sold 25,000 of its new SUV the Cayenne – and the carmaker is already talking of boosting its planned production run of 25,000 to 40,000 per year.

Retailing at between £38,000 and £64,000 and with a profit margin of in excess of 20 per cent, dealers in Germany are already hailing the new model as a trump car for the already-profitable sportscar maker.

One German dealer, Joachim Groh from Porschezentrum Hofheim in Frankfurt, told today's Financial Times: “This is a car sent from heaven. We finally have a cross between a sports car and a utility vehicle.”

He has already sold 40 of the 60 vehicles he is scheduled to receive before July.