Porsche has provided an up close and personal look at its first all-electric SUV, though it remains camouflaged.
The 2023 Porsche Macan will be the brand’s second all-electric model of the modern era after the Taycan and will debut the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) for the brand.
It’ll be sold alongside an updated version of the current petrol-powered Macan.
The PPE, co-developed by Audi and Porsche, will also be used by the Audi Q6 E-Tron, due by the end of 2022, and the A6 E-Tron sedan.
The Macan prototypes previewed by Porsche are still covered with copious amounts of black tape, while there are even fake-out headlights.
Look closer and the real headlights bear a strong similarity to those of the Taycan, indicating the Macan will have a strong familial resemblance to its fellow electric vehicle.
Towards the rear, there are prominent shoulders and a sharply raked tailgate, the latter reminiscent of the Cayenne Coupe.
“The all-electric Macan will be the sportiest model in its segment,” said Dr. Michael Steiner, executive board member for research and development, citing one of the key development goals of reproducible best-in-class performance figures.
Porsche has also prioritised long-distance range and high-performance fast charging in developing the Macan EV.
Like the Taycan, it’ll use an 800-volt architecture.
The company is testing the Macan EV at its development centre in Weissach, while also extensively employing digital prototypes.
We don’t yet know what electric powertrains the Macan EV will use, though we expect the model range to follow a similar naming structure to the Taycan.
The Taycan is available in 4S, Turbo and Turbo S models, with a Performance Battery Plus option on the base and 4S variants. There’s also a less powerful, rear-wheel drive base model available in other markets.
Porsche’s first EV is available with either a 79.2kWh or 93.4kWh lithium-ion battery, with outputs ranging from 390kW of power and 640Nm in the regular Taycan 4S to 560kW of power and 1050Nm in the Turbo S.
The base 4S has the lowest electric range of any Taycan offered in Australia with a claimed 365km, while the Turbo offers the most at 420km.
Porsche acknowledges some markets aren’t transitioning as quickly to EVs as Europe and has confirmed it’ll introduce “another conventionally powered successor to the current Macan in the course of 2021”, which will be sold alongside the all-electric Macan.
Our spy photographers have captured an updated version of the current Macan, featuring restyled bumpers and a redesigned centre console that’s swapped out its legion of buttons for touch-capacitive controls.
