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Porsche Macan : No plans for 2WD version; no four-cylinder engines for Australia

Porsche has scotched rumours of a two-wheel-drive Macan for any world market, and Australia won't get a four-cylinder version - diesel or petrol - at any stage either.


Porsche SUV sales and marketing director Julian Baumann told CarAdvice that the Macan range would grow to match the five-model grade Cayenne range and there would be the potential for a plug in hybrid Macan "if market demand dictated it".

Porsche Cars Australia has previously ruled out offering the four-cylinder Macan that is sold in China, and there won't be a four-cylinder diesel Macan anywhere in the world either. "There will be no four-cylinder diesel Macan," Baumann said definitively.

He went on to explain that the Macan DNA does not work with a two-wheel-drive platform. "Our sports cars are mostly rear-wheel drive, this is true," Baumann said. "But for us, two-wheel drive/rear-wheel drive doesn't fit into the DNA of the SUV range. Porsche SUVs should be capable, all-wheel-drive vehicles."

According to Baumann, the Macan is already seen as a 'coupe' within Porsche, so don't expect to see a fastback-styled Macan anytime soon either. Despite the launch of vehicles like the BMW X4 and Range Rover Evoque, Baumann sees no need for Porsche to follow suit. "The Macan is already for us, something of a coupe," he said.

Macan demand is already outstripping supply in every market around the world but there are "no plans for Porsche to produce the Macan outside the existing Leipzig facility", according to Baumann. That factory is already running at maximum capacity too, so that factor, plus the strong demand for Cayenne in markets like China and the United States, means Macan won't have the chance to overtake Cayenne as Porsche's best-selling SUV.

Porsche builds 80,000 Cayennes each year, while Leipzig can only churn out 50,000 Macans over the same period.

Baumann also told CarAdvice there would be no seven-seat Cayenne in the company's future, with internal research indicating that customers don't want a third-row option for the large SUV.

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Trent Nikolic

Trent Nikolic has been road testing and writing about cars for almost 20 years. He’s been at CarAdvice/Drive since 2014 and has been a motoring editor at the NRMA, Overlander 4WD Magazine, Hot4s and Auto Salon Magazine.

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