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Porsche has started testing the next-generation Macan, which will be offered solely as an EV. It released images of early prototypes and published some of the first official details about the model to give us an idea of what to expect.
Built on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture developed jointly with sister company Audi, the next Macan is venturing outside of Porsche’s headquarters for the first time. It has been evaluated internally using software to save money and time, the firm explained, but no simulation program can replace real-world testing.
Engineers used the data during the digital and on-track testing phases to build the first prototypes that they’ll test on public roads. Porsche pledged the electric Macan will be the sportiest model in its segment, and explained it’s developing the crossover with “long-distance range, high-performance fast charging, and reproducible best-in-class performance figures” in mind. An 800-volt electrical system like the Taycan’s will help it tick these three boxes.
Porsche concealed the next Macan’s design with a mix of camouflage and body cladding before letting it loose, so it’s difficult to get an accurate idea of what the crossover looks like. We can nonetheless tell that each headlight features four individual LEDs, a look reminiscent of the Taycan, and that the roofline is unusually steep. We’re also amused to see Porsche added a pair of fake exhaust tips to each test mule’s rear bumper to fool onlookers.
More details about the next Porsche Macan will emerge in the coming months, and the model is scheduled to enter production in 2023, meaning we might not see it in the United States until the 2024 model year. In the meantime, prototypes will rack up nearly 2 million miles in some of the most extreme environments the planet has to offer.
As we’ve previously reported, the current Macan will stick around in the foreseeable future as an alternative to buyers who are not interested in buying an EV. Porsche said the gas-burning Macan will be updated in 2021.
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