The electric Porsche Macan should launch in 2023 on the new PPE architecture.
We’ve spied the next-generation, all-electric Macan testing before, but these new images give us our best look yet at Porsche’s upcoming EV SUV. They also mark the first time we’ve seen it going under assessment on the public road.
There are plenty of distinguishing features from this new prototype to previous test cars. We can better see the slimmer headlight design – still incorporating the quad lights seen on the Taycan. The Macan will also have smoother front bumper with no main grille. Instead, we’ll see a revised lower grille and large side air intakes – the upper section of which will house large secondary lights.
The side profile looks much more rakish and coupe-like than the current Macan with a sloping roofline. Behind the test car’s wheels we see six-piston brake calipers and large discs. The rear of the prototype shows an active rear spoiler and a full-width rear light. Fake exhaust cutouts will likely give way to a plain rear end and mild diffuser set up like the Taycan’s.
We previously received some images of the Macan EV from Porsche research and development boss Dr. Michael Steiner along with some of the technical targets his engineers are aiming to achieve.
“The all-electric Macan will be the sportiest model in its segment”, says Steiner. “Like the Taycan, the all-electric Macan, with its 800-volt architecture, will offer typical Porsche E-Performance.” No figures have been revealed, but Porsche says the Macan EV will offer a long range and “reproducible” high performance.
Porsche has undertaken significant digital development of the new model, using accurate computer simulation techniques to identify weaknesses in the model’s design. Porsche says this has allowed it to identify and resolve issues with the car virtually, before physical prototypes take to the road. For instance, the firm has developed a new display and operating concept in the interior, without actually building a real world prototype of the cockpit.
The electric Macan will be the first Volkswagen Group car based on the new PPE underpinnings. Technical specifications are limited aside from confirmation it will share the same 800V/350kW charging capability as the Taycan. This suggests the Macan will have an equally long range – and, given the extra space under the SUV’s floor for batteries, the line-up could easily feature 480km-plus variants.
Like the Taycan, we’re expecting the Macan will be offered with a few different power outputs, as well as both short- and long-range battery packs. Porsche will also probably provide buyers with a choice of either rear- or four-wheel-drive, with the latter being achieved with the addition of an electric motor on the front axle.
Since its introduction in 2014, the Macan has been a huge success for Porsche – the company shifted almost 100,000 in the 2019 fiscal year, though it has fallen behind the Cayenne in the brand’s most recent delivery figures. That success hasn’t deterred the company from radically overhauling the mid-size SUV after only its first iteration.
Dr Steiner, Porsche’s executive board member for R&D told Automotive Daily in 2020: “It is an obligation for us, at Porsche, to think about and work on sporty answers to electric cars.
“The electric Macan will be based on a new electric platform, not a derivative. It was developed jointly with Audi, and is called the PPE. Knowing that there is not a lot of speed in the transition from ICE to electric, we are preparing to have both paths running in parallel.
“For a few years, the internal-combustion-engined Macan of today will be sold in parallel with the new fully electric car,” he told us. “And it depends on the market demand all around the world how long we will have both.”
Dr Steiner also mentioned how the Macan’s new underpinnings could open up the possibility of many more electric variants. He said: “PPE is totally different from the Taycan’s [J1 platform]. That was designed for cars sitting low, the PPE for the Macan is designed for high-floor cars, so there could be [electric] derivatives in the range of SUVs.”
Alastair Crooks