We’ve known Porsche is preparing an all-electric Macan for the past several months, but our friend Jason reached out with these shots showing the latest prototype out in the wild. More specifically, he spotted this Macan EV at a California charging station — and it wasn’t on its own either.
Apart from the men surrounding and driving the car around the lot, there were two other electric cars in close proximity. While most automakers won’t broadcast their efforts to benchmark rivals, the fact that both a Ford Mustang Mach-E and Kia EV6 were in the vicinity is…well, let’s just say curious.
So, what do we know about the new Porsche Macan EV so far?
Several more shots show the car from virtually every angle. Not that Porsche’s trying very hard to hide the Macan EV at this point, so we (fortunately) get a pretty good look at what the production model should look like. By and large, this looks the same as the official prototype shots we saw last year, complete with the same Taycan-like headlight appearance and overall exterior shape. If nothing else, at least that’s some indication that Porsche’s maintaining its design ethos here and it’s unlikely the car will dramatically change between now and its formal reveal, which should be coming up soon. The bits that are camouflaged (i.e., the headlights and bits of the front and rear fascia) may look a bit different on the production model.
What I’m curious about, especially with the relatively large wheels and rear bumper design, is whether this will be the Macan EV Turbo model. It still throws me that, despite this being a purely electric car — Jason did get a quick glance under the hood, shown below — it still has fake exhaust surrounds in the lower bumper trim. Why?
Some of us in the TFL office, especially Nathan, aren’t fans of this design trend when the car actually has an engine. But those two trapezoidal pieces surrounding nothing but black plastic…yeah, you’re obviously not fooling anyone there, Porsche. Now, on the other hand, some shots of this car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife shows an electronic spoiler/air brake subtly placed between the rear light bar and the liftgate glass, and that is a nice touch. A bit of extra downforce when you need it, and unbroken coupe-like styling when you don’t.
Most details are still a mystery
Unfortunately, we still don’t know any more with certainty than we did at Porsche’s May 2021 announcement.
Porsche aims to launch the Macan EV next year, though we don’t know exactly when it will happen yet. This will be the first Porsche built on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture. Beyond that, it should use the same 800-volt electrical system as the Taycan. As for drive motor configuration, battery capacity, and the other hard numbers?
While we may be able to make educated guesses based on the Taycan, it’s impossible to say at this point in time. However, Porsche should actually share some more info on this car in the coming months, and we’ll have a much better idea of what we’re dealing with. I’d expect it to pack a competitive punch against some of the current EV pack, with a premium price tag to match.
We cannot see it here, but other recent spy shots show the upcoming Porsche Macan EV will share a similar layout to the Taycan. That includes similar switchgear, as well as a curved digital instrument cluster.
In due time, Porsche should launch an all-electric Cayenne as well, if you’re looking for a bigger vehicle than the Macan EV.
