The 2020 Porsche Macan Turbo launches with anger

The 2020 Porsche Macan Turbo is the hottest and fastest Macan in the lineup, packing a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 good for 434 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. With the Sport Chrono Package (as ours is equipped), it launches from 0-60 mph in just 4.1 seconds and runs out of steam at 167 mph.

That launch control system is mighty aggressive compared to that of other manufacturers, too. Porsche pegs the needle at about 5,000 rpm for Macan Turbo launches, and thereafter the seven-speed PDK cracks off shifts like no other car in its class. We illustrate the impressive launch from a few different angles above to get an idea of what it sounds like from every vantage point. A quick bit of tire scratch, and it’s off. Porsche’s launch control mode immolates any amount of turbo lag we experience when just flattening our foot to the floor off idle. It’s scary good, but you do need ideal conditions for it to be consistent. So long as there’s a modicum level of heat in the tires, no dampness to the pavement and the ambient temperature is summer-tire-friendly, it’ll launch like this over and over again. Depress brake. Apply full throttle. Release brake. Smile.

The sound emanating from the Macan Turbo’s dual exhaust is proper for a Porsche of its standing, too. Porsche makes the Sport Exhaust System standard equipment for the Turbo, so it’s properly loud on the outside. You do have to be in the proper mode to get the full effect, though. There’s an exhaust button on the inside to switch between a quiet and loud mode. When in the loud mode, you get a bassier and gravellier tone than the standard clean soundtrack. It adds some pops and crackles to the overrun, and we noticed that switching into the Sport Plus drive mode unlocked even racier noises. Redline is at 6,800 rpm, and the note reaches higher and higher octaves as it quickly gets there. 

Unsurprisingly, it sounds much better from the outside than inside the cabin. From the driver's seat, much of the ferocity is muted and you’re left with something that sounds much more pedestrian. Burbles and crackling do make their back to the driver every now and then, but those outside the car are enjoying a much better noise than the folks inside (the same could very much be said of the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid). There are some intake whooshes and turbo noises that trickle into the cabin on full throttle, but you have to be paying close attention to hear that stuff. As is, it would be nice if Porsche could step up the drama on the inside with the Turbo. Of course, maybe that's not possible with a turbocharged engine and the abundance of sound deadening that makes the Macan Turbo so peaceful and quiet on the highway, and we certainly wouldn't want enhanced speaker noises. Still, a Stelvio Quadrifoglio owners’ ears are having a much better time.

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