The next-generation, electric-only Porsche Macan has been spied yet again during cold-weather testing. This time around, our car paparazzi were able to take a peek inside a prototype’s largely exposed cabin to reveal a modernized dashboard compared to the gas model on sale today. It would appear the zero-emission crossover will take a page from Taycan’s book by adopting a similar dual-screen setup for the driver’s display and infotainment.
While the electric sports sedan has another touchscreen mounted lower on the center console, that’s not the case with the Macan EV. Instead, Porsche is installing a touch-sensitive panel with four traditional toggle switches to access the climate control settings. Compared to the gasoline-fueled crossover on sale today, the electric successor’s cabin has been decluttered as there are fewer soft keys. Despite the simplified dashboard, it’s nice to see there are still separate controls to quickly access often-used functions.
The glossy black panel on the passenger side of the dashboard leads us to believe the Macan EV prototype also had an optional third screen. Sitting between the driver’s display and the touchscreen is the gear selector while the steering wheel (with the drive mode selector) appears to be carried over from the Taycan. We can also see the interior door panel with silver and metallic accents along with plenty of buttons and nice stitching.
Look closer and you’ll notice the instrument cluster shows an 82-percent state of charge and only 145 miles (234 kilometers) of range left, which doesn’t seem hugely promising. However, that’s not relevant since we are dealing with a prototype after all. The battery used might not be a production-spec pack and/or the software that estimates the remaining range has not been finalized. We can also assume the test vehicle has gone through extreme tests, which have obviously taken their toll on efficiency.
Exterior shots show the familiar deceptive camouflage to make the Macan in EV flavor look almost the same as the ICE model. Porsche continues to put faux dual exhaust tips and an equally fake front grille while the real headlights and taillights are cleverly hiding behind stickers mimicking the current model’s lights. It also had some stickers slapped onto the C-pillar to conceal the real design. The prototype sat on 21-inch wheels with 255/45 front and 285/40 rear winter tires.
A sister model of the Audi Q6 E-Tron, the Porsche Macan EV will be out in 2024 on the PPE platform with a 100-kWh battery pack. The dual-motor version in top specification will produce as much as 603 horsepower (450 kilowatts) and more than 738 pound-feet (1,000 Newton-meters) of torque. The folks from Zuffenhausen have confirmed a 48:52 weight distribution, 800V setup, rear electronic locking differential, all-wheel drive, rear-wheel steering, and up to 22-inch wheels.
