Porsche Divulges Details on 2024 Macan EV and Its PPE Platform
The 2024 Porsche Macan EV will ride on the company’s new remium Platform Electric (PPE), and the German automaker has released new details about PPE and the upcoming crossover.The Macan EV will max out at 603 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, and Porsche is promising sharp driving dynamics.The 100.0-kWh battery will be able to charge from five to 80 percent in under 25 minutes thanks to an 800-volt electrical system.
Porsche is investing in synthetic, carbon-neutral fuels in a bid to keep its much-loved internal-combustion engines alive in an ever-stricter regulatory environment. But even so, Porsche’s future, like that of every other car company, will be centered around electric vehicles. By 2030, Porsche hopes to have more than 80 percent of its sales consist of EVs. Critical to this goal will be the PPE platform, co-developed with Audi, which will underpin Porsche’s high-volume electric cars. The upcoming Macan EV will be the first Porsche to ride on PPE, and at a recent event at the Porsche Experience Center in Franciacorta, Italy, the German automaker revealed juicy new details about the platform and the electric crossover that will herald its arrival.
Porsche
Porsche is promising that the fully electric Macan will bring improved range and charging and Porsche’s typical sharp handling. The PPE platform will, like on the Taycan, utilize a 800-volt electrical architecture. Along with slashing charging times, Porsche says this reduces the weight of the high-voltage cables and how much space they take up. Every electric Macan will use a lithium-ion battery mounted in the floor of the vehicle with a gross capacity of approximately 100.0 kWh, made up of twelve modules with prismatic cells. Charging rates will improve over the Taycan’s 270 kW, with Porsche targeting the ability to recharge the Macan EV from five to 80 percent in under 25 minutes. Porsche is also packaging the onboard AC charger, high-voltage heater, and DC/DC converter together in what it calls the Integrated Power Box to save space.
Porsche has also developed a neat trick called “bank charging.” If the charging station uses a 400-volt system, the Macan EV’s 800-volt battery is effectively split into two 400-volt batteries that can be charged at the same time. However, most DC fast-chargers in the United States already employ 800-volt architecture, so this technology will be less relevant here than in other markets.
Porsche
The PPE platform will allow for rear- and all-wheel-drive setups, with the maximum output initially set at around 603 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. Vehicles riding on the platform will be powered by permanently excited synchronous electric motors, which will bring higher power and torque densities, improved efficiency, and more easily reproducible power outputs versus asynchronous motors. The Macan EV has revised the magnet arrangements within the motors and improved the cooling system compared to the Taycan, which Porsche says boosts the power density. Silicon carbide is also replacing silicon for the semiconductor material in the inverter on the rear axle to decrease switching losses. A one-speed gearbox will be used instead of the two-speed unit in the Taycan.
Porsche claims that the Macan EV will be the “sportiest model in its segment,” thanks to what Porsche refers to as a “performance rear axle.” The rear electric motor will be mounted behind the rear axle, recalling the positioning of the flat-six engine in the 911 sports car and shifting the weight balance rearwards to a 48/52 percent split. Porsche argues that this will improve “agility when accelerating out of corners.”
Porsche also revealed that the Macan EV will have a revised unequal-length control arm front suspension and a multi-link rear setup that is attached to the body by an elastically-mounted sub-frame. The rear motor, meanwhile, is directly connected to the body structure at four points. This approach is said to improve driving precision, rigidity, and NVH behavior. Certain trims will also come fitted with a fully-variable electronically-controlled rear differential and, for the first time on a Macan, rear-wheel steering that can adjust by up to five degrees. The all-wheel drive system will permit fully variable torque distribution between the front and rear axles.
Porsche
The electric Macan will also feature the Porsche Active Suspension Management system (PASM), which will be available with both air suspension and steel suspension setups. The Macan EV will see the addition of two-valve shock absorbers that can adjust independently, creating a more adaptable suspension and better distinguishing the different drive modes. Air suspension will also allow the body to lower at higher speeds to stretch the range using slipperier aerodynamics. The Macan EV will ride on wheels up to 22 inches in diameter.
Porsche says the platform can be easily adjusted to different wheelbases, track widths, and ground clearances to suit a number of different vehicles. We already know that the Macan EV will be joined by the Audi A6 e-tron sedan, but this platform likely won’t be used for Porsche’s electric-sports-car endeavors. The platform also won’t support more than two electric motors or the use of wheel-mounted hub motors. Deliveries of the Macan EV are supposed to get underway in 2024, with more details on the ground-breaking crossover and Porsche’s PPE platform expected next year.
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