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2014 Porsche MacanRemember when Porsche released the Cayenne? Remember all the people in their Porsche owners club shirts sitting around and telling you about how this new SUV was a disgrace to the Porsche logo and that all the company should design and produce are 911 variants? While they might have had a point, the Cayenne sold like bottled water and like this water in plastic, it’s completely pointless. People don’t need this much power from something that will be used to haul around families. Yet, it became the automaker’s best selling model, despite its looks. Now, to put the owners club folks in the mental home, Porsche is created a smaller SUV, the Cajun. No, it’s not intended for people in New Orleans, but it is intended for people who found the Cayenne to be a bit too large and fancied something a bit more crossover like. Porsche officially confirmed the small SUV in an official statement detailing their hopes for the vehicle: "Under the working name "Cajun," this efficient and sporty model will further expand the world’s most successful Porsche segment in the SUV sector. In addition to the new Cayenne, which has clearly consolidated its market position as the most successful sporty SUV in the premium segment, the "Cajun" will also have a very positive impact with its typical Porsche features such as light weight, ease of handling and agility. As an attractive entry model in the Porsche world, the "Cajun" will attract new and even younger customers to the premium brand along with the Boxster, the market leader in the segment of two-seater, mid-size sports cars." UPDATE 02/16/2012: Porsche has confirmed that its new SUV - known until now as the Cajun - will in fact be called the Macan, a name derived from the Indonesian word for tiger. The name "combines suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics." The new Macan will be the fifth model in Porsche’s line-up and will be produced in Leipzig starting 2013.Next to the official name, Porsche has also unveiled a teaser video and a rendering of the next SUV. UPDATE 04/16/2012: According to Autocar, Porsche will fit the Macan Turbo with a new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that produces 370 horsepower and 400 lb/ft of torque. Likewise, the Macan will also be mated to a standard seven-speed manual transmission or an optional seven-speed, dual-clutch PDK automatic transmission. In addition to the top-of-the-line Macan Turbo, Porsche will also offer less powerful engines for other variants of the Macan. Look for a four-cylinder engine to be offered, one that produces around 220 horsepower. Similarly, Porsche will likely offer a Macan S variant that comes with a 3.6-liter V6 engine that develops 295 horsepower. A diesel engine is also in the pipeline in the form of a 2.0-liter turbo diesel with 190 horsepower and last but certainly not least, a hybrid model that could carry a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with an electric motor, producing an output of 241 horsepower. More details on the Porsche Cajun after the jump. Full story | Find us on Facebook | |||||||||||||
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