The next Macan was supposed to go on sale this year but Porsche had to push back the crossover’s launch to 2024 to solve some unexpected software issues. The announcement about the delay was made by CEO Oliver Blume in an interview with German business newspaper Automobilwoche in July 2022. Later the same year, the house of Zuffenhausen reiterated the EV will take longer to hit the market in the shares prospectus part of the Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Fast forward to August 2023, the all-electric Macan has been caught on a rainy day during what we can only presume is final testing. It might seem undisguised, but Porsche strategically placed body-colored camouflage to give the illusion its next EV is naked. While the makeup can’t hide the split headlight design, there are stickers on the upper-mounted, four-point LEDs. The front bumper appears to be devoid of any camo to reveal what surely looks like the production-ready design.
Most of the camouflage is noticeable at the rear where Porsche applied black tape around the taillights to conceal what we believe is a light bar stretching across the entire width of the tailgate. That wrinkled tape extends onto the rear fenders and bumper, although we can’t imagine it’s hiding anything important. Other details worth pointing out include the active rear spoiler and a rearview camera right below the center of the light bar.
Porsche has penned a more sloping roofline for the ICE-less Macan to echo the larger Cayenne Coupe. It appears to have charging ports on both rear fenders, and we’re surprised by the lack of flush door handles since many of EVs have moved away from conventional door handles that stick out. It’s not just for the sake of design as it cleans up the side of the car for better airflow, which consequently has a positive impact on range by improving aero.
Our spies weren’t able to peek inside this time around but a previous batch of photos from early April 2023 revealed a prototype’s digital dashboard with generously sized screens and a touch panel for the climate controls. As seen in the adjacent spy shots, the Macan wil barely have any conventional switchgear, in keeping with other luxury automaker that are abandonding traditional buttons and knobs.
Riding on the new PPE platform co-developed with Audi, the Macan (twinned with the Q6 E-Tron) without a gasoline engine will peacefully coexist with the ICE variants for a number of years. It’s getting a dual-motor configuration with just over 600 horsepower and more than 738 pound-feet of torque in an EV engineered with a 100-kWh battery. Other confirmed facts include wheels as large as 22 inches, a rear electronic locking differential, rear-wheel steering, 48:52 weight distribution, and all-wheel drive.
Porsche hasn’t said when it will unveil the Macan EV but it can’t be much longer seeing as how this prototype has lost most of the disguise.
