A decade after its launch, the Porsche Macan is transitioning into its all-electric second model, with the SUV currently undergoing an exacting and “grueling” test program ahead of its upcoming world premiere.
By 2025 more than half of all new Porsche cars sold are expected to be electrified – either full electric or plug-in hybrids – and the Macan is the first Porsche to be built on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE). The vehicle has undergone real-world testing, with camouflaged prototypes, and simulations in the virtual world and wind tunnel, both of which “are increasingly precise and play an ever-greater role”, the auto maker says.
“Finding the optimal connection between our design principles and the specifications given to us by the aerodynamics engineers is certainly a challenge,” explained Peter Varga, director of exterior design at Style Porsche.
To maintain the product identity of the Macan model series while meeting the aerodynamic requirements needed for high efficiency and long range, the teams in the design department and aerodynamic testing closely cooperated during the development.
Through the various test stages, the objective was to coordinate the new components and systems, to ensure the operational stability and smooth functioning of their interaction.
To date, the camouflaged prototypes of the all-electric Macan have completed more than three and a half million test kilometers on test tracks and public roads. To test the interaction of all active driving components under extreme climatic and situational loads, the test cars have been put through their paces in endurance tests all around the world.
“We cover all temperature ranges. From -30°C in Scandinavia to +50°C, as we experienced in Death Valley in California,” said Jörg Kerner, vice president, product line Macan.
“Of course, an SUV also has to work on any surface. That’s why we test not only on roads, but also off-road, on gravel, snow and ice.”
