I imagine this will be a rival for the Model X. http://www.autoblog.com/2013/11/20/2014-porsche-macan-official-specs-pictures/
1. From the pix, I'm puzzled as to why that's termed a crossover rather than a sedan, other than 7.5 to 9.1" clearance. But this is from a truck driver.... 2. How is one supposed to pronounce M-a-c-a-n? But this is from someone who wonders how to pronounce E-l-o-n...... 3. 18-way seats?!?!? That's just crazy!
almost looks like a Subaru a little except that odd clock in the middle that seems super out of place
When I first heard about the car I thought they called it a Porsche Pecan. I actually had to look it up. How nuts is that?
50 grand for such a tiny SUV? I guess if you put Porsche on the front it is supposed to be worth it. Cayenne is the competitor for the X, but still won't be much competition.
I think the Macan will sell extremely well given the power of the Porsche brand and the entry price. At first, I couldn't believe the low pricing (especially for the U.S.) when it was rumored a few months ago. Porsche is now basically an SUV company with a sports car segment attached. Purists may not like this unit sales development but it opened up many new markets for Porsche (especially among female customers). Here's how the rest of the Model X competition is doing (numbers are US sales in 2013 YTD): 1. Acura RDX 36,872 2. Audi Q5 31,979 3. Mercedes-Benz GLK 25,980 4. BMW X3 22,884 5. BMW X1 21,407 6. Volvo XC60 16,685 7. Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 9,128 8. Land Rover LR2 2,626 9. Infiniti EX 1,588 I think the Porsche Macan at just $50k starting price will be very high on this list in 2014 and 2015.
I think the Macan only has one major issue: It is too cheap (I mean that seriously) given its Porsche badge. Looking at previous Cayenne sales, I think Porsche at $50k base pricing can't make enough of them in the first months. To be fair, as with BMW, the list of options is very long, you can easily price it to up to double that - and the Macan will of course cannibalize some Cayenne sales. ICE or not, this will be one of the Model X best competitors in my opinion. (PS: I think taking the high-end Porsche route as an EV maker (TSLA becoming the Porsche of the EV world, i.e. without ever doing cheaper Gen III and Gen IV cars) would be a better way for TSLA going forward, but that goes beyond this discussion topic).
Don't worry, this is just my armchair opinion. You know TSLA is going to do a Gen III (and likely an even cheaper Gen IV after that) in reality. Back OT, here are some earlier sales projections for the Macan: Porsche ups forecast, predicts 75,000 Macan sales in first year - Autoblog I think these estimates are too low. Porsche could sell 250k cars/year (so around 100k of Macans) provided they can ramp up production fast enough imo.
I don't see how the Macan is a competitor to the Model X. The Q7 is what Elon kept comparing the Model X to, which is what the Cayenne is based off of. The VW Tiguan/Audi Q5/Porsche Macan platform is rather small. There is no room in the back for anything that would resemble a third row of seats (much less cargo room). The real competition (IMHO) stacks up like this: Audi Q7 Porsche Cayenne Volvo XC90 MB ML-Class BMW X5 (maybe X6) Lincoln MkT Infiniti QX60 (2014) Lexus GX (hideous, IMHO) Range Rover LR4 I'm looking at seats, cargo space, amenities, etc doing the comparison. A fully blown out X85+ would come close to the top end of all of those in pricing, but you get what you pay for with Tesla
He also said it'll be faster than a 911, so I think a Cayenne Turbo is also in the sights (at least for the Model X Performance).