One could be forgiven for thinking Porsche just hit copy on the company’s Xerox machine when designing the latest Cayenne, but there’s actually a lot of subtlety and fine details that make the third-generation model unique.

A new video on the design of the latest Cayenne, which arrives next year, as a 2019 model,  provides insights on what the design team, led by Michael Mauer, Vice President Style Porsche, attempted to achieve.

Mauer explains that there are two pillars to the design of every Porsche: brand and product identity. Brand identity ensures the vehicle is immediately recognizable as a Porsche. Product identity, meanwhile, ensures an onlooker can easily recognize which vehicle in the Porsche lineup he or she is gazing at.

The Cayenne is arguably the most important model in the Porsche lineup. Profits generated by the SUV are what allows Porsche to develop an ever-increasing number of 911 variants, for example. This may explain why Porsche has made the design so conservative.

Underneath the sheet metal, virtually everything has been renewed. Performance has been lifted significantly, including for the base model which benefits from a new turbocharged V-6 with 340 horsepower. The only other variant we’ve seen is the Cayenne S which has a twin-turbocharged V-6 with an impressive 440 hp.

Porsche says we’ll see a range-topping variant on Tuesday at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show. This is likely to be either a Cayenne Turbo or possibly a Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid. The Cayenne Turbo should come with a twin-turbocharged V-8 with 550 hp. The Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, which is yet to be confirmed by Porsche, is expected to pack the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid’s V-8 and electric motor combo good for 680 hp.

Porsche will also use the Frankfurt auto show to unveil a new 911 variant, tipped to be a regular production “purist” model along the lines of the 911 R. We’ll know soon enough. In the meantime, learn about some of the other vehicles appearing at the German show by visiting our dedicated hub.