Autoblog West Coast Editor Michael Harley discusses the new 2015 Porsche Macan with Porsche Product Manager Mike DePetro at the 2013 LA Auto Show. This $49,900 compact sport utility vehicle will hit showrooms summer 2014.
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MICHAEL HARLEY: Hi, I'm Mike Harley, west coast editor for Autoblog. And I'm here at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. And over my right shoulder is the all new 2015 Porsche Macan. This is the automaker's first jump into the compact SUV market. And to help me out with the car is Mike Depetro from Porsche Cars North America.
As far as technology goes, the compact Macan is an incredible-- it's just loaded with technology, everything from segment leading brake system, segment leading transmission, segment leading engine, segment leading powertrain, everything. Let's talk about the brakes for a second.
MIKE DEPETRO: All right, the brakes on this car are traditional Porsche brakes-- I mean, six piston fixed calipers up front, so very big brakes over all. The back, they're a little smaller, but single piston. But, you know, it works for the weight of the car.
Going into the weight of the car, the car is actually very light. It's 4,112 pounds for the S, 4,200 for the turbo. So very light cars in this segment overall.
MICHAEL HARLEY: Talk about the all-wheel drive system. What kind of all-wheel drive system? Is this a haldex system, or is it much more sophisticated?
MIKE DEPETRO: It's what we call the hang on system. So it uses an electronic center differential and distributes the power to wherever it needs to go. So it can go 100% front, 100% rear. So it's where it's needed primarily.
MICHAEL HARLEY: So on a normal dry road, driving on the highway, what are we talking as far as torque split?
MIKE DEPETRO: It depends. It's fully active, but it's going to always default to a rear bias.
MICHAEL HARLEY: Let's talk about the engines for a second. You guys-- obviously nobody else in this segment is offering a twin turbo V6. And this just isn't borrowed family twin turbo V6 from Volkswagen. This is a Porsche only engine.
MIKE DEPETRO: This is a Porsche only engine. So there's two variances, a three liter twin turbo V6, as well as a 3.6 twin turbo V6. The big difference between the two is the horsepower. So you've got 340 horsepower in the S, 400 in the turbo. And really, the difference is done through basically stroke. So it's about 14 millimeter less stroke in the S and the turbo.
MICHAEL HARLEY: Let's talk about the platform. Obviously, a lot of people heard about this car when it first came out. And they said, hey, what they've done is basically gussied up an Audi Q5. Truth is, you guys are using the same platform, which is Volkswagen's group longitudinal platform. But you said, what, 75% is all new?
MIKE DEPETRO: 70% is Porsche engineered converted part. So it's basically a Porsche, for the most part. We've got rid of a lot of the parts from the family platform. So lightweight-- so we went lightweight with a lot of parts, and then a lot of parts, we used from other Porsche models as well.
MICHAEL HARLEY: Another game changer for the Macan is the fact that you guys have gone with a seven speed dual clutch transmission. Why did you do that instead of going with an eight speed automatic?
MIKE DEPETRO: This is a sports car. We are the first sports car in this segment, and rightly so, we needed a nice PDK transmission to support that claim.
MICHAEL HARLEY: So what's the 0 to 60 time? We're talking performance wise.
MIKE DEPETRO: 0 to 60 is 5.2 for the S, 4.6 for the turbo. You can deduct 2/10 of a second if you add the sport [INAUDIBLE] package. And that includes launch control as well.
MICHAEL HARLEY: So there's a launch control mode.
MIKE DEPETRO: Correct.
MICHAEL HARLEY: So we're talking a compact utility with a launch control.
MIKE DEPETRO: Yep. No other way to do it.
MICHAEL HARLEY: Obviously, everyone is looking forward to driving this. Looks like we're going to get our first chance in the spring once the snow melts. They're going to be in showrooms summertime.
Porsche has announced pricing. Base price, car next to me, the S model, 49,950. Great value, especially when you consider what's under the hood. I'm Mike Harley for Autoblog.
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