A new Porsche SUV is joining the lineup to unseat the Porsche Cayenne as the biggest performance car from Stuttgart, and this new sizable SUV will be an EV. The upcoming Porsche will build on the success of the Porsche Cayenne and Macan, but will slot above both models as the company’s flagship SUV — which only happens to be electric. But it’s going to be pricey, according to Auto News.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume confirmed the flagship SUV is coming within a few years; production isn’t slated to begin until the middle of the decade in Leipzig. Assuming that means 2025-2026, the SUV has a ways to go before taking the Cayenne’s place atop the range, and as one of Porsche’s best-selling models.
The wait will have been worth it for the performance carmaker, however, as Blume went on to say that the Porsche EV SUV will be targeting “higher margin segments in particular and aim to tap into new sales opportunities.” That’s CEO-speak for “we’re gonna sell a lot of big, expensive SUVs,” which makes sense given the public’s infatuation with the segment. The bigger the better!
To that end, this new Porsche SUV, codenamed K1, will possibly even come with a third row — a Porsche first. But the Porsche K1 will nonetheless debut a “very sporty interpretation of an SUV.” Porsche already pulled that off with the mid-size Cayenne, but has yet to show it can graft the performance it’s known for onto a longer and wider SUV.
With the timeline of production being out a few years, and possible release further ahead in the second half of the decade, it makes sense the Porsche K1 will be fully-electric. Porsche wants EVs to account for 80 per cent of its global sales by 2030, and the unexpected success of the Porsche Taycan bodes well for that goal. The Taycan now outsells the Porsche 911, per AN, proving the viability of EVs to the brand. Another Porsche EV has been delayed, but is coming in 2024: a Porsche Macan EV that’ll be smaller than the flagship Porsche K1.
Details and specifications are still scarce for now, but the Porsche K1 will likely take after technology from the Mission R — an EV concept Porsche showed off at the 2021 IAA car show in Munich. The tech that the Porsche K1 will borrow from the Mission R reportedly includes a 920-volt electrical system for faster charging, a high-performance battery and a direct oil-cooled electric motor. The future of Porsche is EVs, SUVs, and also EV SUVs but, maybe, just fewer 911s.
