Porsche Macan (2013) new name for baby Cajun SUV

Porsche’s new sub-Cayenne SUV has a name – the Porsche Macan. Previously internally dubbed Cajun – short for Cayenne Junior – the new 4x4 will go on sale in 2013. Click here to watch Porsche's teaser video for the new Macan SUV.

Porsche says the name Macan ‘is derived from the Indonesian word for tiger and combines suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics – core characteristics of the new off-road car.’

Porsche publically confirmed production of a sub-Cayenne 4x4 in 2010 (and released the design sketch, right), and production will start at the company’s Leipzig plant (which builds the Cayenne and the Panamera saloon) in 2013. We hear Porsche plans to build 50,000 Macans each year, so €500m is being invested in a new assembly line and paint shop. Porsche says it should create 1000 jobs at the factory in the east of Germany.

‘The Macan combines all sports car characteristics with the benefits of a SUV and is a genuine Porsche,’ said Porsche sales and marketing boss Bernhard Maier. ‘The name of a new Porsche has to fit with the brand, sound good in very many languages and dialects and evoke positive associations.’

Porsche’s first ever SUV, the Cayenne, caused controversy, but with the second-generation car selling strongly, most of the automotive world has come to accept that this famed sports car company can sell ‘off-road’ vehicles.

Just as the Cayenne shares parts with the VW Touareg and Audi Q7, the Macan will be loosely related to the next Audi Q5. Audi would prefer Porsche to concentrate on a sportier, standalone three-door version, but Weissach claims it also needs a five-door version to achieve double digit profit margins. The provisional plan calls for us to get both, with the five-door coming in spring 2013, and the Macan coupe arriving in 2014.

Expect exterior styling to mirror the Cayenne, and inside the dashboard will adopt the rising centre console of all Porsche’s latest models. The standard seating configuration will be for four, but they’ll be a 4+1 option.

Four-wheel drive will be standard, double-clutch gearboxes will sport seven speeds, and these are the expected engine options, with a little more power like-for-like than the Audi Q5:

• 2.0 TFSI 4-cyl, 237bhp/258lb ft
• 3.0 TFSI V6, 288bhp/295lb ft
• 2.0 TDI 4-cyl, 187bhp/258lb ft
• 3.0 TDI V6, 261bhp/369lb ft

A Macan Turbo S is also in the works, with Porsche's own twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 rated at 345bhp, and there's a Macan Hybrid too, with the Q5’s 208bhp 2.0TFSI engine and electric motor set-up. Pricing for Macan is expected to exceed the Q5 by about 15%.   

By Ben Pulman