Meet the Porsche Macan small SUV

The small Porsche SUV that goes on sale about 18 months will wear the Macan nameplate, the German automaker said on Thursday.

Until now, the SUV project had been known by the code name Cajun, created from the concept of “Cayenne Junior.”

Porsche says Macan is “derived from the Indonesian word for tiger and combines suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics.”

The Porsche Macan will share a platform with the Audi Q5 and will be built at the Porsche plant in Leipzig, Germany, that now builds the Cayenne.

Porsche is spending $650 million to expand the Leipzig plant, adding a body shop and a paint shop. Production of the new Macan SUV is set to start in fall 2013.

Below is the feel-good video teaser for the Macan from Porsche.

By Dale Jewett