It may only be the “baby Cayenne,” but the Porsche Macan in Turbo guise does borrow the twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 from its bigger brother. That gives it an extra 10 percent power output over its predecessor even though the engine’s displacement has gone down by 20 percent compared to the old Macan Turbo. Now with a meaty 435 horsepower and 550 Newton-meters (354 pound-feet) of torque, the range-topping version of Porsche’s smaller crossover delivers top-notch performance as demonstrated in the adjacent video.
Despite the winter tires and a slightly damp Autobahn, it still managed to complete the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) run in an amazing 4.25 seconds. That’s actually slightly quicker than the 4.3-second time advertised by Porsche for the version equipped with the optional Sport Chrono Package like this vehicle had. It did the 0-124 mph (200 km/h) task in 16.61 seconds and went on to accelerate to 160 mph (258 km/h) or to a more accurate 155 mph (250 km/h) per the onboard GPS.
Macan: Present And Future
The Macan Turbo was not pushed to its limits in the Autobahn test as Porsche quotes a maximum velocity of 168 mph (270 km/h), thus making it about 3 mph (4 km/h) faster than its predecessor. Why didn’t the driver go flat out? Because the winter tires the crossover was equipped with were certified for a top speed of 149 mph (240 km/h), so he actually took somewhat a gamble by going slightly over the recommended limit.
If you’re a fan of combustion engines, enjoy the sound of the V6 while it lasts. Porsche has already confirmed the next-generation model will switch to an electric powertrain, and while the ICE model will stick around for a while, it will ultimately be axed later this decade. The two Macans will peacefully coexist for a number of years before Porsche will pull the plug on the gasoline-fueled crossover.
Despite losing the combustion engine, the future Macan due sometime in 2021 is still set to receive a Turbo version (see all-electric Taycan). Riding on the VW Group’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture, the zero-emissions Macan Turbo / Turbo S could have as much as 700 horsepower and a whopping 1,017 Nm (750 lb-ft) from dual electric motors granting an all-wheel-drive layout.
Source: AutoTopNL / YouTube
