Artfully applied decals mask the true shape of the front lights on the next-Macan prototype known as Ludmilla.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Dominik Hartmann says we should all stop fretting about the battery size and the range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Instead, the Porsche engineer says, think in terms of travel time. The key to viable long-distance travel in an EV is faster charging en route, not loading up on battery size that becomes an expensive, diminishing-returns proposition of adding mass, which in turn reduces range.
As Hartmann shares this key piece of Porsche’s electric-vehicle philosophy, he stands with his back turned to his “colleague,” Ludmilla. Cunningly disguised to hide her true appearance, Ludmilla is a test prototype of the next-generation Porsche Macan.
Hartmann is the engineer in charge of the Macan’s chassis, but he is at this media workshop in Franciacorta, Italy to reveal Porsche’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture. The PPE will have its first Porsche application in the next generation of the automaker’s compact crossover SUV. That’s right, the new Macan will be exclusively electric when it arrives in 2024.
That said, the platform was co-developed with corporate sister company Audi, so it’s possible its first application will be on the Q5. And, tellingly, we’re told it can support a wider variety of vehicle types than just SUVs.
As for “Ludmilla,” Porsche explains that the first batch of black next-Macan test prototypes have been built, but aren’t street-legal. This meant they couldn’t be issued with licence plates, so the chassis development team gave them names to help identify them internally.
Ludmilla’s basic shape is masked with decals and mouldings designed to make it resemble as much as possible a present-generation Macan. There are even dummy exhaust outlets.
The electric Macan is a key element in Porsche’s plan for 50 per cent of its deliveries to be plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or (mostly) BEVs as soon as 2025, and 80 per cent BEVs by 2030. We also know that, as part of that same process, the next-generation 718s (Boxster and Cayman) will be BEVs. Look for them in 2025.
At the rear, dummy quarter-lights and exhaust tailpipes further the illusion.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
The Macan borrows from, and builds on, the technology of the Taycan that launched in 2019 as Porsche’s first BEV. Like the Taycan, the Macan gets a fast-charging head start from an 800-volt architecture, but the SUV will, at suitable charging stations, be able to handle an even higher charging capacity than the Taycan’s 270 kilowatts. The target is to be able to charge to 80 per cent from 5 per cent in less than 25 minutes in ideal conditions.
The battery capacity will be about 100 kilowatt hours, still a good size despite Hartmann’s focus on travel time (the biggest battery in a Taycan is 93.4 kilowatt hours). Using nickel, cobalt and manganese in a ratio of 8 to 1 to 1, the battery pack achieves higher energy density, Porsche says.
Intriguingly, Porsche says the PPE architecture can accommodate both rear and all-wheel drive. The rear motor is positioned slightly behind the rear axle (similar to the 911) which ensures that even all-wheel-drive models will have a slightly rear-biased weight distribution to promote agility as well as traction when powering out of curves.
The platform’s rear-wheel-drive capability suggests it will also support cars sportier than a compact crossover. Indeed, says Porsche, “the architecture offers so much room for manoeuvring in the wheelbase, track width and ground clearance that it can be used to realize a variety of models – including in different segments.”
That said, Porsche claims the Macan will itself be the sportiest player in its own segment.
The motor(s) are evolved from the Taycan’s and will be of the permanent-magnet synchronous variety, which provide higher power and torque densities and greater efficiency than the asynchronous alternative, Porsche says. The most potent models will “initially” deliver up to about 450 kilowatts (about 600 horsepower) of power and 738 lb-ft of torque.
Porsche has applied for a patent on the way it packaged some of the control electronics: a space-saving Integrated Power Box that combines the on-board AC charger, the high-voltage heater and the DC/DC converter into a single package.
Macan will offer most of the familiar variable-this and adjustable-that and automatic-the-other chassis options that help resolve the traditional tradeoffs between comfort and athleticism. These include Porsche Active Suspension Management variable damping control (now with two-valve dampers), an electronically controlled variable rear differential lock, fully variable front/rear torque distribution, air springs and, for the first time in a Macan, rear-wheel steering.
Hartmann also highlighted a new in-house-developed power steering system that transmits through feel unfiltered to the driver all the important information, such as the surface characteristics of the road and the grip capability of the tires, while disruptive vibrations and bumps are eliminated before they reach the steering wheel.
Porsche already does steering better than almost anybody, and that level of dedication to further improvement is a promising confirmation that, as the company says, “Porsche will always be Porsche. This goes for the performance of the future PPE models and their expected driving dynamics.”
If the existing Taycan is any indication, that isn’t hard to believe.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.