Porsche Macan launched in India at Rs 1 crore

Porsche has launched the highly anticipated Macan SUV in India. The car has been launched in two variants; the Macan S Diesel is a more laid-back variant and has been priced at Rs 1 crore while the mighty Macan Turbo petrol will retail at Rs 1.1 crore, both ex-showroom Delhi.

The Porsche Macan is based on the same platform as the Audi Q5, though Porsche claims more than two-thirds of the architecture has been reengineered to give the Macan its own character. The car has been styled with trademark Porsche design cues making it look quite similar to its elder sibling, the Cayenne, though the compact dimensions lend the Macan a sportier stance.  

Contrary to the other global markets, Porsche has offered air suspension system with ride height adjustment, fully variable all-wheel drive, lighting package, bi-xenon headlamps, three-zone climate control and an electronically operated tailgate as standard.

The Macan Turbo will be powered by twin-turbo 3.6-litre V6 engine which pumps out 394bhp and 550Nm of torque. Despite being a big SUV, the petrol will be capable of sprinting to 100kmph from standstill in just 4.8 seconds and will hit the limiter at 266kmph. The 3.0-litre V6 diesel on the other hand churns out 241bhp and 580Nm of torque and is limited at a humble 230kmph. All-wheel-drive and the PDK gearbox are offered as standard fitment in both versions. 

Speaking to ET, Anil Reddi, director, Porsche India said, "With the launch of the Macan, we intend to expand this [market share] further, but we don't want to lose out on the exclusivity that Porsche guarantees. We are not in the pursuit of volumes and as a policy, we will always sell one car less than what the market demands. Given the demand, we are requesting our HQ for priority allocation for India despite our small volumes.”  

Since its launch in the international market, the Macan has turned out to be a very popular SUV and rumours suggested that Porsche has already sold out the entire lot of 50,000 units assigned for this year. Hence, only a limited number of cars have been allotted to India, all of which are currently sold out. 

Going by its size, the Macan should compete with the likes of Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Audi Q5 and the BMW X3, though its price tag makes it rival bigger SUVs like the Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The Macan is built at Porsche’s Leipzig plant in Germany and will be imported here as a completely-built-unit (CBU). Owing to its sky-high price tag, we can be sure that it will be a very exclusive car. Following the Macan, Porsche will launch the 911 Targa, Boxster GTS and the Cayman GTS in the next six months.

EDIT: As per the latest communcation from Porsche, the ex-showroom Maharashtra price of the Macan S Diesel is Rs 98.18 lakh and that of Macan Turbo is Rs 1.08 crore.