Porsche 2013 Annual Report Download - page 42

040 // ANNUAL REPORT PORSCHE AG 2013
The new Macan is my Porsche because
it’s a sports car among compact SUVs.
That’s a powerful statement, but one that
we, as a sports car brand, can express
with confidence. No other vehicle in its
segment takes curves so precisely, quickly,
and safely as the Macan. It truly does
incorporate the brand’s complete expertise
in the sports car realm.
And that appeals to me tremendously as
an engineer. It has the sporty genes of the
brand, it’s a true all-rounder in off-road con-
ditions, and it also offers perfect comfort.
Those qualities make it a high-performance,
everyday car that proves itself in diverse
conditions. The ability to successfully
bridge divergent requirements is typically
one of Porsche’s great strengths.
For the development, we had very little
time – barely three years. Obviously, we
took advantage of the solid basis offered
by the Group platform so that we had
prototypes on hand within a very short
amount of time, yet the task was still
immense. And then we had to figure out
the driving dynamics and define those.
For example, it quickly became clear that
we would use the Porsche all-wheel drive
system with an electronically controlled
multi-plate clutch. This decision enabled us
to use a mixed tire combination with sports
car-type wider tires in the back and it gave
the all-wheel drive handling a rear bias.
The high lateral force potential of the rear
axle in turn allowed us to use a very direct
steering ratio, resulting in an outstanding
combination of agility and stability. In this
way, we had nailed down the sport-oriented
chassis concept of the Macan. In addition,
combining the Porsche Active Suspension
Management with air suspension creates
a highly versatile system that results in a
synthesis of optimal driving dynamics and
a high degree of driving comfort. All in all,
only the finest ingredients have gone into
making this new Porsche.
I always had a good feeling about the pro-
ject, but we reached a key milestone in the
summer of 2012, about 18 months after
the project launch date and right before
the start of production. We were driving
prototypes on a test track near Barcelona,
Spain. The weather was great and I have
to tell you: on the handling course, the
car showed what it was capable of, and
everyone on the team knew that this car
was going to be a big hit. Similarly, a few
months later we were in the desert around
Dubai with its high, sprawling sand dunes.
Here, the Macan was set to demonstrate
its off-road capabilities. A recent rain
shower made the ground conditions ex-
tremely unfavorable. However, the Macan,
equipped with road tires, climbed up the
famous “Big Red” dune so confidently that
even the locals wanted to know more about
the car. It was then that I realized just how
capable it was in terms of traction. It com-
bines the best from many different realms:
it’s a true Porsche.
Dr. Manfred Harrer
Head of Vehicle Dynamics and Performance