Photo: Carpix
Earlier this week, we delivered a fresh batch of spyshots portraying the 2019 Porsche Macan, with the facelifted incarnation of the crossover having been spotted testing in its home country. While the already-spicy high-riding Porscha is about to get even hotter, you shouldn't expect the machine to receive a GT badge.
Andreas Preuninger, the man steering Porsche's GT arm recently reinforced the idea that the racetrack-tech-for-the-road division won't release an SUV anytime soon. Talking to Car and Driver, the executive made it clear that Porsche GT cars must have a direct connection to the automaker's racecars.
Preuninger was nice enough to paint the picture of a world where a GT Division-touched SUV would make sense.
“If we were to enter the Dakar rally with a Macan or Cayenne—something we have no plans to do—then maybe the Motorsport department would develop that car and bring it to the race. Then I would see a good excuse to make something for the street that is very close,” Preuninger said. “But to just use a badge on a Panamera or Cayenne to make it more attractive, for me, would not be credible. It would only be marketing, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do,”
Nevertheless, the Macan will get hotter with the revamp. For one thing, the competition has raised the bar - while the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q and the Mercedes-AMG GLC63 and GLC63 Coupe already make for 500+ hp offerings, the almost-ready 2018 Jaguar F-Pace SVR and potential Range Rover Velar SVR should do the same.
For the time being, the most powerful Macan is the Performance Package-gifted Turbo, which packs 440 hp. The refresh is expected to replace the 3.6-liter V6 of the Macan Turbo with the new 2.9-liter V6 animating the second-gen Panamera S, which delivers the same maximum output, but could receive further upgrades.
As for the denied GT-badged Porsche Cayenne GT, velocity aficionados shouldn't fret. The already-confirmed 2018 Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, which should mirror the Panamera range-topper's 680 hp will offer all the high-riding sprinting one could ever wish for.
Preuninger was nice enough to paint the picture of a world where a GT Division-touched SUV would make sense.
“If we were to enter the Dakar rally with a Macan or Cayenne—something we have no plans to do—then maybe the Motorsport department would develop that car and bring it to the race. Then I would see a good excuse to make something for the street that is very close,” Preuninger said. “But to just use a badge on a Panamera or Cayenne to make it more attractive, for me, would not be credible. It would only be marketing, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do,”
Nevertheless, the Macan will get hotter with the revamp. For one thing, the competition has raised the bar - while the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q and the Mercedes-AMG GLC63 and GLC63 Coupe already make for 500+ hp offerings, the almost-ready 2018 Jaguar F-Pace SVR and potential Range Rover Velar SVR should do the same.
For the time being, the most powerful Macan is the Performance Package-gifted Turbo, which packs 440 hp. The refresh is expected to replace the 3.6-liter V6 of the Macan Turbo with the new 2.9-liter V6 animating the second-gen Panamera S, which delivers the same maximum output, but could receive further upgrades.
As for the denied GT-badged Porsche Cayenne GT, velocity aficionados shouldn't fret. The already-confirmed 2018 Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, which should mirror the Panamera range-topper's 680 hp will offer all the high-riding sprinting one could ever wish for.
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