Porsche claims it’s finally on the cusp of revealing its new-generation Macan SUV, which rides the electric-only Premium Platform Electric.
This follows a number of delays for the Porsche electric SUV, along with its Audi Q6 e-tron platform mate, mainly due to issues with the Volkswagen Group’s troubled Cariad software division.
At this stage Porsche hasn’t announced an official date for when its will reveal the Macan EV, though in the meantime it has detailed the testing and development the electric SUV has been put through to date.
Porsche has completed a range of simulations under harsh operating conditions, as well as 3.5 million kilometres of real-world driving of camouflaged prototypes on test tracks and public roads.
The latter included driving the Macan EV in temperatures ranging from -30 degrees Celsius in Scandinavia to over 50 degrees Celsius in Death Valley, California. Porsche isn’t alone in conducting real-world testing like this.
The Porsche Macan EV is powered by a rear-biased dual-electric-motor setup comprising the latest generation of “permanently excited PSM motors” on the front and rear axles, providing a total system output of “more than 450kW” and “more than 1000Nm” in its most powerful form.
This is fed by a 100kWh (95kWh net) lithium-ion battery pack with an 800V electrical architecture. Porsche hasn’t detailed claimed range for the Macan EV at this stage.
The German carmaker has confirmed the Macan EV has a maximum DC fast-charging rate of up to 270kW. It’s claimed to be able to be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in “less than 22 minutes” at 400V charging stations.
AC charging on the other hand is rated at up to 11kW.
The Porsche Macan EV comes with a Porsche Active Suspension Management system with two-valve damper technology, air suspension, rear-axle transverse lock, as well as rear-axle steering with an angle of up to five degrees.
It also has an active aerodynamics system that includes active cooling flaps on the front air intakes, variable elements on the underbody, as well as an extending rear spoiler.
With all of these systems at work during normal cruising on a country road, Porsche engineers measured a drag coefficient of 0.25. This is the same as the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.
As recently reported, Porsche is retiring its petrol-powered Macan to make room for its electric replacement.
The brand has told dealers orders for the production of current Macan SUV, as well as the 718 sports car line-up, will end in the third quarter of 2024.
Anyone who wants to order either car before they disappear will need to get in before the middle of 2024, or be willing to take delivery of a pre-configured car in stock with a dealer.
Orders for the as-yet unrevealed Macan EV will open early in 2024 when the vehicle is shown off in full for the first time, ahead of the car’s arrival in local showrooms late in 2024.
The Macan is by far Porsche’s best-selling vehicle currently in Australia. During 2023 there were a total of 2925 Macan examples sold, followed by the Cayenne (1546 sales).
MORE: Our first look at the 2024 Porsche Macan EV
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