Porsche has posted a couple of design sketches of its upcoming Macan EV shortly before the premiere. The sheer level of detail suggests that’s what the finalized car actually looks like. According to the company’s Design VP Michael Mauer, the design team had a number of new challenges to address in conceptualizing the new Macan.
According to him, the battery SUV will be the marque’s first vehicle in history to go all-electric after a long time being around. It has an image to maintain and popularity to deliver on. As such, the designers needed to nail the golden balance between classic looks and innovative features – make it stand out, but not too much. Porsche also instructed Mauer to make the electric nature of the SUV ‘shine through’ its design.
In addition to these rather specific requirements, the company wanted to create a vehicle for the international market. Customer tastes and design concepts vary from region to region, with cars in Asia being perceived very differently from cars in Europe, for example. The biggest challenge for the Porsche design HQ was to find a universally working and fresh approach to styling without dropping what is seen as the Porsche brand DNA.
In the end, the electric crossover wound up with multi-tier headlights, the company’s signature DRLs, bumper-integrated headlamps, a sculpted, sloping hood and a large air intake. The rear end is dominated by a continuous light strip running across the tailgate. An impressively sized diffuser and widened fenders can also be seen.
The live premiere will be held in Singapore on Thursday, January 25.