Porsche "Chatan" Flagship SUV Rendering Threatens Tesla, Accurately Depicts Upcoming Model

Now, before we dive into which is which, let just pay tribute to this rendering by Kolesa, who took one good look at the so-called K1 prototype (as photographed by our spies) and came up with a rendering that not only looks plausible in its design, but downright accurate and realistic.

This all-new flagship model currently uses the codename ‘K1’ because it hasn’t been given a name yet, but that isn’t going to stop us from coming up with an original moniker for it, should it? Besides, nobody else has thought about giving it a hypothetical name, especially not with 2-3 years ahead of its unveiling.

I’ve done this before, by the way. Back in January of last year, we showed you an original rendering depicting a future flagship SUV from Porsche, and I dubbed that baby the Armyun.

Out of which orifice did I pull that from? Well, creating a plausible Porsche moniker out of thin air isn’t easy, and I remember going through multiple languages and dialects looking for words that roll off the tongue a certain way, before ending with a vowel, followed by a consonant – and if not, at least sound as if they did.

Armyun was my first choice, and that’s how I named that particular rendering. For this one, which is obviously a lot better (since it’s based on a real prototype), I went with my second choice from back then, which was ‘Chatan’. What does that mean? It’s the Sioux name for “Hawk”. Pretty cool, right? It definitely works as a Porsche model.

Alright, now that I’ve had my fun with the nomenclature, let’s pay closer attention to the rendering, and see how it might differ from the real prototype. The styling is on point, but the artist clearly made the rear doors longer so that the final design works better as a three-row SUV. Judging from the prototype alone, it’s impossible to say if there’s room for an extra pair of seats in the back, and quite frankly, I believe there isn’t.

In other words, I believe that the prototype that’s been causing a stir online for the past few weeks isn’t the K1 flagship model, but rather the upcoming Cayenne EV. Alas, it would have been disrespectful for me to take a rendering that’s clearly trying to be one thing, and then call it something else – so I stuck with the three-row flagship SUV idea.

What about the design language?

You’re right. Let’s forget for a minute that we literally have no idea what this is (not for certain, anyway), and talk about the actual styling.

Personally, I like it a lot. Porsche have really gotten a handle on styling when it comes to larger models. It took a few generations, but they finally designed a great-looking Panamera. Meanwhile, the Taycan is gorgeous, and the Macan EV is arguably their best-looking crossover.

From what I can tell, this new upcoming model (what lies underneath the camouflage), is going to be rather handsome too. The proportions look good, and the headlights look similar to the ones used on the 2024 Macan EV. Meanwhile, the taillights stretch the entire width of the tailgate, at the same height as the shoulder line, although because the roofline slopes downward so aggressively, the light units actually look a bit odd, but not necessarily in a bad way, just not in a very “Porsche” way.

Potential rivals

If we’re genuinely looking at the so-called K1 flagship SUV, a three-row configuration means that it could give the Tesla Model X a good run for its money. Alright, let’s be real, it would annihilate the Model X in the looks department. It would also rival the Mercedes EQS SUV (comes with an optional third row of seats), Rivian R1S, plus various upcoming models like the Lucid Gravity, Volvo EX90 and even the Cadillac Escalade IQ.

On the other hand, if the aforementioned prototype is simply the next-gen Cayenne EV, well, in that case it might be more of a Range Rover EV rival, or perhaps it will be able to walk in both worlds, kind of like the automotive equivalent of Blade (the Daywalker).

It’s also worth pointing out that when the new Cayenne EV does come out, it will instantly back both the Lamborghini Urus and the Ferrari Purosangue (to some extent) into a corner. Lamborghini (the better example) would have happily thrown the Urus at whatever flagship spec Cayenne you could find and say that their car is better.

However, when said Cayenne becomes battery-electric, the Urus will be left holding its charge port, because it will only be able to offer you a plug-in hybrid solution.