Porsche Macan: Name confirmed for new baby SUV | CarAdvice

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Porsche Macan: Name confirmed for new baby SUV

By Jez Spinks |
FIND DEALS

Until now it’s been known by its project name of Cajun – a hybrid of Cayenne Junior – but this week Porsche has confirmed its new compact sporty SUV will be called the Porsche Macan.

Porsche has also released a sketch of the new Macan, which the German car maker says stems from the Indonesian word for tiger and will be released in 2013. Porsche Australia has confirmed it will add the Macan to its line-up in 2014.

The Porsche Macan will become only the marque’s fifth model line and its second SUV, following the large Cayenne SUV that was launched in 2002 to some controversy but has become Porsche’s best-selling vehicle globally.

Porsche’s sketch of the Macan reveals a five-door SUV that shares plenty of visual cues with its bigger brother, the Cayenne.

“The Macan combines all sports car characteristics with the benefits of an SUV and is a genuine Porsche,”, says Bernhard Maier, Porsche’s member of the executive board of sales and marketing. “The name of a new Porsche has to fit with the brand, sound good in very many languages and dialects, and evoke positive associations.”

The Porsche Macan will share some parts and components with the Audi Q5 mid-size SUV, and may well use some of the Q5’s same mix of petrol and diesel powertrains but in a higher state of tune.

A Porsche Macan Turbo and Porsche Macan Turbo S will also reportedly emerge down the track, using a Porsche twin-turbo V6 engine.

Expect a Macan Hybrid as well considering there’s a Q5 Hybrid and a petrol-electric Cayenne.

The Porsche Macan will be built in Germany, at the same Leipzig plant where the Cayenne (and Panamera) are assembled.

The company will reportedly build about 50,000 Macans annually as it aims to get close to doubling sales from last year’s figures to about 200,000 by 2018.

  • Altezza

    Macan is an Indonesian word meaning Tiger. I don’t know whether Porsche derived this name from this animal. Doesn’t sound too bad although I hate the idea of another SUV.

    • Altezza

      Ahh I did not read the whole article as my phone screen too small. They have explained word Macan derived from. My bad.

  • Xavier, Style Guru

    Nice… Very handy for posing in.

    • Guest

      But is your hair right?

      • Xavier, Style Guru

        Ooops, a hair was out of place.  Fixed now.

  • Nada

    Ahh Macan you’ve done it Agan.

  • denot

    Someone has to tell Porche, that Tiger in Indonesian is… “Harimau”!!! It’s not Macan! Macan is a Javanese word for Tiger (not approved Indonesian word). Anyway, if you say the first bit (Mac) like you say an Apple Mac, then Macan will sounds like “Makan”, which is Indonesian word for eat. :p

    • Zaki M

       LOL.. yep.. its gonna be joke in Indonesia/Malaysia..

      Porsche Makan Orang..

    • K20A

      Very true. As soon as I heard this news I can already imagine the almost certain mispronunciation of Macan.

      Well here you go CA readers.. yon can set the example and spread the good word.. it’s pronounced ‘Ma-Chan’. With a ‘c’ as in ‘chat’, not a hard ‘c’ as in ‘cake’.

      Anyone who pronounce ‘Ma-Kan’ deserves to dimakan by macan (eaten by tiger).