Our spy photographers have just sent us the best images yet of Porsche’s upcoming Macan SUV. Set to begin production next year, the Macan will sot beneath the Cayenne in the Porsche lineup.
Previous spy shots showed the Macan wearing the body of an Audi Q5, but the latest prototypes have switched to (mostly) production-intent sheet metal. Some fake body panels remain both on the front and rear of the test car, but this is our best indication yet of what the road-going Macan will look like.
The Macan will clearly borrow most of its design cues from the larger Cayenne, but in profile the compact SUV resembled the Infiniti EX. It’s hard to tell at this point just how much of the Macan’s bulbous rear end will actually make production.
The Macan will ride on Volkswagen’s recently-introduced MLB platform. The automaker has yet to release any technical details about it, but a report published by England’s Autocar reveals that the range-topping Turbo-badged Macan model will be rated at no less than 370 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.
Power will come from an all-new 3.0-liter 90-degree V6 engine which will make its debut in the Macan. It was developed in-house at Porsche’s research and development center in Weissach, Germany, and Autocar claims that it is downsized variant the 3.6-liter mill found in the Cayenne and in the Panamera.
The V6 will feature two sequential Borg Warner turbochargers, and an air-to-air intercooler.
Macan Turbo buyers will be able to pick between two 911-derived gearboxes: the first is a seven-speed manual, and the second is a seven-speed PDK unit.
The Macan’s other engines are a little less glorious. Insiders at Porsche report that the base-model SUV will be equipped by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine. It will be rated at 220 horsepower, and it will propel the Macan from zero to 62 miles per hour in 7.5 seconds.
Other engines will include a 190 horsepower 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder, an S-badged model with a 295 horsepower 3.6-liter V6 derived from the Cayenne, and a Diesel S model with a 250 horsepower Panamera-sourced 3.0 turbodiesel V6.
It is not out of the question to see some of the diesel models in the United States, but Porsche is betting that customers there will be more interested in hybrids. To cater to that market, a Macan Hybrid that uses the same drivetrain found in the Audi Q5 Hybrid is said to be in the works.
Although the Macan will share some of its underpinnings with the Q5, Porsche has gone to great lengths to give its SUV a sportier ride.
“We’ve surprised even ourselves,” said Porsche development boss Wolfgang Hatz. “It drives incredibly well and, from what we’ve seen from the competition, will be the most sporting car in its class.”
In order to accommodate production of the Macan, Porsche says that it is expanding its facility in Saxony to be a full production location, complete with a body assembly line and paint shop. In all, Porsche is investing €500 million ($653 million) into the facility – the largest-ever single investment by the automaker. As a result of the substantial investments, Porsche is planning on creating about 1,000 jobs.
Look for the Porsche Macan to begin production during the second half of 2013.
