Last month, Porsche surprised us with the announcement that the next-generation Macan will be fully electric. But aside from saying it would receive 800-volt charging and ride on the PPE platform Porsche is co-developing with Audi, the announcement didn’t include many details on the electric Macan. Now, we’re hearing it might not even be called the Macan anymore.
In a conversation with Australia’s Wheels Magazine, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said the German automaker hasn’t decided whether or not to change the name. “It will be an SUV and it will have the roots of the Macan, but it will look very different and future orientated. When we develop a new car in the model range, it’s always a challenge to make it even better without losing tradition. We haven’t decided yet [to continue the Macan nameplate],” he said.
Blume also explained Porsche’s electrification strategy in a little more detail. “We have the idea to offer in each segment three options of engines [high-performance petrol, plug-in hybrid, and pure electromobility],” he said. “In the limousine segment, we will have the Panamera as petrol and hybrid and the Taycan as electric. In the SUV segment, our ideas is a fully electrified Macan, petrol Cayenne, and a hybrid Cayenne. Our idea for the Macan is to continue with some updates as long as possible and then to come round about 2020 with the electrified Macan.”
According to Blume, Porsche is also still not sure where the hybrid version of the 911 will fit in its lineup. That’s partly because the upcoming 911 Turbo S will be so powerful on its own. “The most performing Panamera is the eight-cylinder plug-in hybrid with nearly 700 horsepower. In this generation the 911 Turbo S will be the quickest one and the most powerful. When we introduce the hybrid, we haven’t decided yet if it will be top of everything. The Turbo S 911 that we present at the end of this year … will be much more powerful [than the non-S]. It’s a newly developed engine and so it’s a challenge when we use the hybrids to do it even more powerful but it’s possible,” Blume said.
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