Porsche Macan EVs hit the road ahead of 2023 arrival

Porsche has given a rare insight into the development process for electric vehicles, giving a glimpse into the rigorous three-million-kilometres of testing to be endured by the upcoming Macan all-electric SUV ahead of its 2023 arrival.

Promising to be the “sportiest model” in the mid-sized SUV segment and the first Porsche to be built on the new PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture, the Macan EV will be a radical departure from the ICE-powered models Porsche has relied on until now.

As development prototypes of the 2023 Macan EV hit the road in Germany – the second battery electric vehicle from the brand best known for sports cars such as the 911 – the company released images and details of the heavily-disguised cars going on their validation and data collection mission.

READ MORE: New Porsche Macan EV inadvertently revealed?

The cars will head to different parts of the planet to put them through “extremes of climatic and topographical conditions”, in particular testing the battery pack that underpins the crucial new model.

One of those locations is likely to be Arjeplog in Sweden, where many car makers head for extreme winter testing. The town welcomes car makers and respects the privacy required for development vehicles.

Porsche will also likely head to South Africa for hot weather testing.

It’s all about making the Macan quick – but also endowing it with the same qualities as Porsche sports cars and the company’s first EV, the Taycan.

“Like the Taycan, the all-electric Macan, with its 800-volt architecture, will offer typical Porsche E-Performance,” says Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development.

While not putting numbers on it, Porsche said a long EV range was one of the focuses for the Macan EV.

Steiner also nominated DC fast charging and best-in-class performance as high on the development list for the new electric Macan. He also said that performance must be “reproducible”, allowing for multiple back-to-back acceleration runs or race track hot laps.

The reference appears aimed at Teslas, which have famously fast acceleration but can suffer from overheating – and subsequent temporary power reductions – during repeated high-speed performance runs.

“The all-electric Macan will be the sportiest model in its segment,” says Steiner.

The Macan EV development vehicles are heavily disguised and loaded with sensors and equipment.

Describing the on-road testing as “one of the most important milestones in the development process,” Steiner also pointed to the extensive virtual testing being conducted within Porsche’s research and development centre.

“Endurance testing on closed-off testing facilities and public roads in real-life conditions is still indispensable to ensure that the vehicle structure, operational stability and reliability of hardware, software and all functions meet our high quality standards,” says Steiner.

As well as the physical cars, Porsche is also working on 20 “digital prototypes” – or “computational models that replicate the properties, systems and power units of a vehicle to a high degree of accuracy” – simulating everything from aerodynamics to energy management.

“We regularly collate the data from the various departments and use it to build up a complete, virtual vehicle that is as detailed as possible,” says Andreas Huber, manager for digital prototypes at Porsche.

Porsche highlighted cooling and airflow as among one of the most crucial elements for an EV.

As well as making it slippery through the air, Porsche says the car must utilise cooling to maintain key components at the right temperatures.

“While a temperature window of 90 to 120 degrees [Celsius] is the target for combustion engines, the electric motor, powertrain electronics and high-voltage battery require a range of between 20 and 70 degrees, depending on the component,” Porsche said.

In revealing details of the Macan EV, Porsche confirmed it would employ a split strategy for the top-selling model in the brand’s lineup.

While the electric Macan will be built on an all-new architecture for the electrified era, the company will keep producing an updated version of the petrol-powered Macan, too. Both will be available in Australia.

However, given the early sales success of the Taycan in Australia it appears buyers here are more than happy to go electric.