Porsche will be launching the all-new electric Macan on January 25th in Singapore. The Macan is the first Porsche from the current lineup to go electric. The German luxury car manufacturer was clear that the Macan EV has to have the typical Porsche traits and Macan looks first. Vice President Style Porsche Michael Mauer explained that “the new one” should have the visual consistency of the Porsche brand by striking the right balance between “quintessentially Porsche” and “innovative”.
Porsche Macan EV: First Impressions and Expectations
The new Macan does retain some design DNA of its electric sibling, the Taycan, as both sport similar headlight clusters. It has four horizontally shaped LED DRLs but as it gets a split headlamp design, the lights are nestled in the bumper. As it is an e-SUV, the Macan has a tall stance and gets muscular bumpers with a massive lower grille. It also has pronounced wheel arches. From the rear, the new Macan gets an LED-connected light sweeping across the boot with the Porsche name above it. Mauer said, “We have fundamentally kept the proportions that define what a sports car in this segment embodies for Porsche. The design has been refined both inside and out – the new model has an even sportier and more dynamic vibe.”
With the second-generation Macan ICE version already in the market, its EV version is expected to come with a 10.9-inch infotainment system along with touch-sensitive buttons on the centre console. It will be interesting to see whether the Macan EV will get the analogue clock in the middle of the dashboard.
Porsche Macan EV: Aerodynamics
The lack of an internal combustion engine was a blessing in disguise for the Porsche designers as this gave them a lot of flexibility which also came with its challenges. Mauer said, “Removing the bulky engine block allows us to enhance the distinctive shape of the hood. At the same time, the battery is still a rather large component that requires a lot of space and could disturb the defining width-to-height ratio. And of course, aerodynamics plays a big role in terms of the range of an electric sports car.” Being a Porsche, aerodynamics was the priority. Hence, the success of the close collaboration between designers and aerodynamics engineers is the reason why with a drag coefficient of 0.25, the all-electric Macan is one of the most streamlined SUVs on the market, Mauer added.