► Next-gen Porsche Macan goes electric
► 96kWh and 115kWh long-range batteries
► Macan EV to be unveiled at 2023 LA show
The Porsche Macan EV is the next all-electric car to come from the world’s largest-scale sports car brand. Our new rendering by Andrei Avarvarii (above) depicts how we expect the new e-Macan to look when it belatedly launches later this year.
This project has been struck by multiple delays and is running nearly two years late, caused by a savage combination of Covid pandemic slowdowns, semi-conductor shortages, supply-chain issues and the complexity of software development.
Back in 2019, the product plan showed electric Macan production starting in June 2022. This date has obviously passed, and so have two more tentative intro dates. We expect the Porsche Macan EV to launch at the 2023 Los Angeles motor show this November, with CEO Oliver Blume confirming during the 2023’s annual press conference that it’s ‘scheduled to be delivered to our customers in 2024.’
Electric Porsche Macan: background to 2024’s hottest EV
We have frequently spied the all-electric Porsche Macan prototypes as part of a rigorous programme that’ll see Zuffenhausen engineers rack up 2 million miles of durability testing. Flick through our gallery to see spyshots from the Nordschleife in Germany to the wilds of the Arctic Circle.
Underpinning the new e-Macan is the Volkswagen Group’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture co-developed by Audi and Porsche. It will also power the upcoming Audi Q6.
It is built around an 800-volt electrical architecture designed to transform the EV hardware. Porsche says this tech will give the electric Macan ‘long range, highly efficient quick charging and reproducible best-in-class performance figures and is to be the sportiest model in its segment.’
Battery sizes, specs and model line-up
The electric Macan will be offered with two battery sizes, according to our soures: a choice of 96kWh or 115kWh, both pretty sizeable cells. That should be enough for an electric driving range of between 300 to 425 miles, CAR understands.
Insiders predict three specs on the model ladder, mapping in a similar fashion to the combustion Porsche range and echoing the Taycan’s line-up):
- Macan E 400bhp
- Macan 4S 500bhp
- Macan Turbo 600bhp
There are even rumours of a wild 750bhp Turbo S GT in the works. Charging the energy pack from 5% to 80% is claimed to take only 18 minutes on a rapid charging plug.
As far as conventional technologies go, the biggest surprise is perhaps the option of air suspension – rare in this segment. It will allow Porsche to tune the chassis for comfort or sportiness, as well as lift it for off-roading or lower it for loading dogs and luggage.
Porsche new-model strategy: offering a choice of electric or petrol/hybrid models
Porsche’s decision to sell an electric version of the new Macan alongside ICE-powered models shows that the brand isn’t ready to throw its full weight behind full electrification just yet. The company recognises that electrification isn’t right for everyone, so it’ll tailor the sales of its electric Macan to the markets most willing to accept it.
By 2030, Porsche expects 80% of its line-up to be all-electric – and it is preparing its supply chain to be carbon neutral by the end of the decade, too.
This is an expensive move for Porsche as a manufacturer – but it’ll benefit customers, as they’ll be given a broader choice of powertrains. Porsche first confirmed the all-electric Macan in February 2019, and said it will be built at its Leipzig factory in eastern Germany where the Cayenne is produced.
Andreas Huber, Porsche’s manager for digital prototypes, tells us that his team has been beavering away on the Macan’s aerodynamics in the virtual world for around five years. He said that low drag for the electric model is ‘fundamental, with a view to ensuring long range.’
The electric Porsche Macan interior
We’ve also obtained fresh spy pictures of the interior of the new Porsche Macan EV. Expect a less busy cockpit with only three instead of five round gauges in the main instrument pod.
Gone are the cluttered switchgear and the crammed centre stack; there’s a big new multi-functional centre display. Note also the option of Sport Chrono, just like other cars in Stuttgart’s line-up.
Porsche’s engineering boss, Dr Michael Steiner (below), explained the benefits of the new PPE hardware. ‘The electrified Macan will be based on a new platform – it’s not a derivative of an existing one. It’s been jointly developed with Audi: PPE, standing for Premium Platform Electric.’
This new chassis continues Porsche and Audi’s collaboration on EVs, as the platform will also be used to prop up the new Audi Q6 e-tron. It differs greatly from the J1 platform found under the Taycan and the e-Tron GT twins.
This reveals a branch in Porsche’s architecture planning. Zuffenhausen intends to offer low-floor and high-riding EVs, which will power a future family of sportier models (Taycan GT, possible electric sports cars) and more practical Porsches (like the Macan and other SUVs).
‘PPE is totally different from the Taycan,’ Steiner added. ‘Taycan was designed for cars sitting low on the road. PPE will be used by Macan and other high-floor cars – there could be further derivatives in the SUV range. It is totally new. The Macan will go all the way up to Turbo and Turbo S levels of performance.’
A petrol/hybrid Macan too: catering for all tastes
Steiner also reaffirmed Porsche’s short-term commitment to combustion power, saying: ‘For some years there will be an ICE [internal combustion engine] Macan, in parallel with a fully electric car. Depending on market demand, we will offer them in parallel.’
This decision puts Porsche in a tricky position, though, as it’s forced to invest in both technologies – a point not lost on the brand’s chairman, Oliver Blume. We asked him when his company’s platform strategies would converge. He told us: ‘Not for a few years. We are watching very closely around the world. Different regions of the world are developing at different speeds.
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‘We are well prepared with the product strategy, petrol engines/hybrids and electric mobility. In 10 years, I don’t know [how that will have changed]. We make analysis every year, how the markets are developing, then we take our decisions for the product strategy year-by-year.’
By 2025, Porsche predicts that half of its sales will come from pure-electric vehicles, which means the brand’s high-revving four- and six-cylinder engines will soon be on the chopping block. So, petrolheads, place your orders now while you still can.
Read our full interview with Oliver Blume