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Taking aim at the X3, Evoque and GLK, Porsche finally took the veils off its smaller luxury SUV scheduled to slot beneath the larger and more expensive Cayenne. The 2015 Porsche Macan was put into the light at the 2013 LA auto show. The long-awaited SUV’s revelation gave excellent preview of its petite body. As most of you might have expected, Macan’s front facade and much of its side profile looks like a scaled-down version of the existing Cayenne. And as a matter of fact, Cayenne’s lines work even better on this smaller body of Macan. Interestingly, at the back, a single-piece light bar replicates the taillight design used on the 911 sports car. 2015 Porsche Macan a chic and slick car and will be a great hit when it makes to production.

Macan, the name pronounced as “ma-chan” – an Indonesian word for “tiger”, was earlier rumored to be built off the same platform used for the Audi Q5 and was supposed to be sharing many of the mechanical and powertrain components of its corporate cousin. However, they de-Audi-ied the Macan into something sportier! When it launches, the Macan will offer two models – S and Turbo. Each of the models is powered by a twin turbocharged V6 engine. While the Macan S utilizes a 3.0 liter unit the Turbo gets a burlier 3.6 liter grunt. The S is sufficiently powerful churning out 340 horsepower but the Turbo takes it away with its whopping 400 ponies. Both the models come standard with an all wheel drive as well as a seven speed PDK dual clutch automatic transmission. A torque vectoring function of the rear axle is optional. According to the brands early performance estimates, the 2015 Porsche Macan S can reach 60 mph from rest in a sprint time of 5.2 second, while the 2015 Porsche Macan Turbo is capable of doing the same in a mere 4.6 seconds. Top speed is an impressive 156 mph for the S and 164 for the turbo.

All of the above performance comes in a package that is 2.1 inch longer in length and sits 0.2 inch lower and stretches a negligible 0.2 inches between its axles as compared to the Audi Q5. Also, holding on to the mantra of keeping it sportier, 2015 Porsche Macan is an inch wider than the Audi. However, the baby Cayenne still retains the Q5’s five-link front and trapezoidal link rear suspension, buts adds a variety of spring and damper choices.

The company’s Volkswagen parents thought that Porsche really needed a small crossover since a growing product portfolio is the best path to global profitability. Also a sure niche existed for a performance-themed small luxury crossover such as the Macan, as the segment’s current leaders – the Audi Q5, the BMW X3, the Cadillac SRX, the Mercedes Benz GLK Class and the Volvo XC60 – don’t stray much beyond practical. Expected to go on sale soon, the 2015 Porsche Macan will probably be priced around in the mid $45,000 range. A fully loaded 2015 Porsche Macan Turbo could even cost up to a massive $100,000 as told by Nick Twork, a Porsche Cars North America spokesman.