Porsche has just started testing the all-electric Macan on the Nürburgring, as suggested by our latest spy photos. Spy photographers report that Porsche had no fewer than four test vehicles on the famed racetrack on this day. Previously seen testing in snowy climes or high on mountains, the performance electric crossover can finally stretch its legs. As seen here testing with and without extended plastic wheel arch inserts, the upcoming Macan EV is undergoing the same development process as the bigger Taycan, which recently took back the EV record of the Green Hell.
In July, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume conceded
that the electric Macan would be arriving on the market for the 2024 model
year, rather than for 2023, as had previously been aimed for. Just a few weeks
earlier, reports came out suggesting that it was actually the software for the
all-electric model that was holding it up. That was being handled by Cariad,
the VW Group’s troubled software engineering subsidiary, which had been tasked
with developing the technology for all of its brands.
In addition to the Macan, several Audi and
Bentley electric vehicles will also reportedly be delayed as a result of issues
at Cariad. Despite this, according to unnamed sources, Porsche has been doing
its job rather well. “The hardware is great,” they said, “but the software is
still missing.” Based on the new PPE electric vehicle platform, the Macan is
expected to have significantly improved range over the Taycan, with reports
suggesting that it will be able to go more than 483 km on a charge.
Although power figures remain a mystery,
the Audi A6 e-tron concept, which is also based on the PPE platform, was quoted
at 470 hp and 800 Nm)of torque. The Macan EV,
though, could get up to 700 hp in its highest-performance trim
level. No wonder the company is testing it thoroughly at the Nürburgring.
