Porsche’s all-electric SUV is set to be revealed this week and we’ve just been given our best look yet at the upcoming Macan EV. Due to be unveiled on Thursday 25 January, the Porsche Macan EV will feature evolutionary styling over the current internal-combustion engined Macan, but the latest technology from the Volkswagen Group.
It’s high time that a second-generation Macan was unveiled because, despite being the brand’s second best-selling model globally (behind the Cayenne), the sporty mid-size SUV is now 10 years old and is being forcibly axed in Europe due to new cybersecurity regulations.
There’s going to be lots of changes for this next Macan, but the most significant is the fact that it’s all-electric, as Porsche takes aim at the BMW iX3, Lexus RZ and forthcoming Lotus ‘Type 134’. The Porsche Macan EV will utilise a new bespoke electric-car architecture called Premium Platform Electric (PPE) that was co-developed with Audi. It’ll be used as the basis for its next zero-emission Audi SUV: the Audi Q6 e-tron, also being launched this year.
This will be the first time that one of Porsche’s famous nameplates moves across from a combustion-engined model to EV, but it won’t be the last. The Boxster and Cayman sports cars, as well as its big-selling Cayenne SUV, are all going electric in the near future.
What will the new Porsche Macan look like?
We’ve caught the new electric Macan testing multiple times, and Porsche itself has released dozens of images of phototypes, so we have a fairly complete picture of what it looks like.
The latest imagery comes courtesy of a Porsche designer who’s sketched the front and rear of the new Macan EV. It’s our best look yet at the all-electric SUV and confirms much of the exterior design previously hinted at by camouflaged test cars.
The headlight cluster is thin and rather like the Porsche Taycan’s with four individual horizontal LED strips within. Below this we can see a set of secondary lights and there’s no upper grille, just a thin opening low down in the bumper integrating the radar system and some active air flaps, which makes for a relatively aggressive front end. The overall design of the front bumper is also on show in our latest images, combined with a protruding lip spoiler.
The Macan EV has taken some inspiration from the Taycan for its rear design too. In the official sketch we can see Porsche’s light-bar partiality remains strong, along with ‘Porsche’ script embedded just below the light. Although it’s not on show in the sketch, previous spy images have shown an active rear spoiler in various positions.
The profile of the Macan EV is much more rakish than that of the out-going ICE model, with the roofline sloping down to the boot opening in a more coupe-SUV-esque style. It creates a more sporting stance, and improves aerodynamic efficiency, which is hugely important for electric cars. Porsche has added some active aerodynamic elements to help in this department. So when cruising the rear spoiler moves into its lowest position, the front air flaps close and the ride height becomes lower. The result is a drag coefficient as low as 0.25Cd, compared to 0.29Cd for its iX3 rival.
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Unlike the Audi Q6 e-tron (which will be offered in SUV and coupe-SUV ‘Sportback’ guise), the Macan EV is only likely to be offered in the coupe SUV-like shape we’ve seen it in.
What is the interior design like?
While Porsche won’t fully reveal the Macan EV’s exterior until later this year, it’s already shared the first images of the tech-centric yet still driver-focused interior. It’s very similar in its layout and design to those found in the new Cayenne and Panamera saloon.
Traditional Porsche interior details are still present, like the central stop-watch available as part of the Sport Chrono package and a simple three-spoke steering wheel design with a drive mode selector dial, plus the highest point on the dash is the centre of the instrument cluster.
Behind the steering wheel is a fully-configurable curved driver’s display, able to display everything from widescreen mapping to traditional dials. Then, in the centre of the cabin is a 12.3-inch touchscreen, while an optional third display is available for the front passenger. Like on other Porsche models though, whatever’s on that third screen isn’t visible to the driver while the car is in motion.
One of the benefits on the new PPE platform is that the Macan EV gets a longer wheelbase compared to the current car, despite the two being a similar size overall. Dominik Hartmann, the car’s chief chassis engineer told us, “I’m over six-foot four-inches and I’m very comfortable in the rear cabin. We’re confident we have made gains in the packaging there.”
What do we know about the Porsche Macan EV’s platform, batteries and range?
The Porsche Macan EV will be one of the first cars to sit on the Volkswagen Group’s new PPE architecture, which allows the car to feature 800V electrics, just like the Taycan. This allows the Macan EV to charge at up to 270kW; enough shove to recharge from 10 to 80 per cent of capacity in just 22 minutes at the right charger.
It also features a trick inverter designed to slightly increase the charging rate when connected to slower 400V chargers. The system – not dissimilar to the tech featured in some smartphones – will, in effect, split the 12 battery modules into a pair of 400V packs when it realises it has been connected to a charger running at that rate. It will level up the charge between the ‘two halves’, then feed both simultaneously for a small reduction in the overall charging time.
The Macan EV is powered by a prismatic cell-based battery of around 100kWh in capacity, with a usable capacity of 95kWh. Exact range figures have yet to be announced, but Porsche claims every model will be capable of over 310 miles on a single charge. Every Porsche Macan model will also feature dual electric motors capable of producing more than 600bhp, and over 1,000Nm of torque.
What kind of performance and drive can we expect?
Porsche has already spoken of its desire to make the Macan EV the sportiest offering within its segment. Senior engineers from the Macan EV project have told Auto Express that the adoption of an all-new platform, will allow the Macan to feature significant chassis tweaks that will “make the Macan feel unmistakably like a Porsche”.
Underneath the body we’ll see the most advanced iterations yet of Porsche’s Active Suspension Management, with two-valve dampers used for the first time on any of the firm’s cars, electric or combustion-engined. “This allows us a greater spread of settings,” Dominik Hartmann told us. “You’ll feel a bigger difference between all of the PASM modes.”
Both steel springs and air suspension will be available, with a double-wishbone layout at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear. The car will be able to vector its torque from front to rear. In fact, it will run in rear-drive mode most of the time, with the front motor disconnected, as in the latest Taycans, and an electronic rear differential will allow lateral torque flow at this end of the vehicle, improving agility.
There’s rear-wheel steering too, with up to five degrees of angle to aid manoeuvrability and stability, and a revised front/rear weight distribution of 48/52 has persuaded Porsche to increase the difference in width between the front and rear tyres. Up to 22-inch wheel sizes will be offered.
What will the new Macan EV mean for the current petrol model?
As we mentioned earlier, the out-going Porsche Macan will be removed from sale in 2024 across Europe because it doesn’t adhere to the latest cybersecurity regulations.
Under the United Nation Economic Commission for Europe, the WP.29 regulation states a need for all new cars sold in the EU to adhere to a certain level of “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Automated Driving Systems and Cyber Security provisions”. These provisions are meant to protect the car not only after it’s sold to a customer but during development and production, too.
Unfortunately the current Macan doesn’t adhere to the WP.29 regulation, and Porsche has said it will not update its hugely popular mid-size SUV. However, when we asked Porsche what that means for sales in the UK, it replied: “In regions outside the EU, the Macan with an internal combustion engine can remain available for longer.” Therefore, Auto Express expects the Macan will remain on sale in the UK throughout 2024.
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