Upcoming electric performance SUV spied for the first time with production body
A carsales reader in Berlin has submitted a spy image of what looks like the upcoming 2024 Porsche Macan EV, which will wear a different body – and ride on a different platform – than the existing combustion-powered versions of Porsche’s mid-size SUV.
Disguised Macan EV test mules have been spotted testing a couple of times now and even openly teased by Porsche itself, including the covert cameo of a full-size clay model in late 2020, and it’s that particular preview which makes us think this new mystery vehicle is a pre-production Macan EV prototype.
Spotted charging out the front of a Porsche service centre in Germany, it sports at least some the hallmarks of the clay model teased two and a half years ago – primarily the sleek and aerodynamic roofline.
The Macan EV will be the first of four battery-electric Porsches released within the next five years and is slated to enter production next year, ahead of the first battery-powered Cayenne and 718 Boxster/Cayman in 2025, so the timing of this sighting aligns with its development timeline.
Public-road testing is one of the final development phases for most new models before they are revealed to the world and it’s too early for the Cayenne EV or Porsche’s all-new electric SUV flagship to be on full display by the roadside.
Porsche has previously confirmed the electric mid-size SUV will adopt more of a coupe silhouette than its ongoing petrol counterparts, with which it will share almost nothing beyond its nameplate, and that’s exactly what we see with this disguised prototype.
It’s hard to tell much else about the vehicle given the picture’s been taken from the side, but it looks to us as if the Macan EV will be slightly longer than the petrol versions and – judging by the clay model at least – will bring a squintier front-end design with and more pointed nose cone in the name of aerodynamics.
Underneath the slipperier skin will be the first application of Porsche and Audi’s co-developed 800V Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture and a 100kWh battery pack that powers a pair of inhouse-developed electric motors good for up to 520kW and more than 1000Nm in flagship Turbo S form.
Porsche has long promised the Macan EV will be the sportiest mid-size SUV at any price point and fuel type when it comes to market, despite obviously being one of the heaviest models in its class on account of its immense EV hardware.
The electric Cayenne is also expected to stray from the German brand’s traditional large SUV formula, by riding on Porsche’s new SSP Sport EV platform and taking on its own design identity to make it distinct from the ongoing and recently facelifted Cayenne petrol range while still sharing the same nameplate.
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Keyword: 2024 Porsche Macan EV spied charging