The most successful model in the present-day Porsche portfolio is undoubtedly the Macan, and it’s not even close. Therefore the recent reports that the German automaker will be switching to exclusively to fully electric propulsion for the next-generation came as a bit of a shock. Now, though, it seems the small and sporty SUV won’t be in for such a dramatic shift.
In its current form, the Macan has been sitting proud in Porsche’s stable since 2014, and so is on schedule to be fully replaced by an all-new model after its predicted 7 year life cycle. As Autocar purports, this all-new model will be developed upon VW Group’s PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture, but once it is on sale, will be positioned as an alternative to the current model.
Of course, Porsche will be layering some significant updates to the Type 95B Macan to have it conform to technical, regulatory, and customer expectations post-2021, trying its best to avoid remarks about its age and extended lifecycle from owners and critics alike.
At this juncture, the likelihood is high that the next-generation all-eclectic Macan won’t stray too far from the aesthetics of the current model as well as the cues seen on the newest Cayenne, 718, and 911, but will be styled to minimise drag and maximise range per charge.
They will both occupy the same footprint on the road as well as the share many exterior similarities, perhaps leaving the more dramatic alterations for a facelift once the petrol-powered Macan is officially retired.
Of course, being an EV and sporting a very different dynamic profile, the tendency will be to have it behave rather differently in the real world, but Porsche and their renowned chassis calibration team have pulled off miracles in the past, making it more than possible that the petrol-powered version will mimic an EV’s dynamics or vice versa.
Given the 2021 release window, the next-generation Macan EV could be the second Porsche model ever to be offered as a fully electric vehicle after the Taycan and its possible offshoots, the estate-like Taycan Sport Turismo and crossover-like Taycan Cross Turismo, all of which will be running on the newly developed J1 platform.
The transition period between the introduction of the fully electric Macan and the current-generation version hanging its hat has yet to be determined, but is limited by certain obvious factors which will surely depend on market sentiments. A hard shift to an EV powertrain might end the model’s sales success streak, and so long as customers keep buying the petrol-powered version, Porsche will keep making them.
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