This mystery Audi Q5 is actually a Porsche Macan, and it has a V8
Porsche has been caught testing the next combustion-powered Macan beneath the body of an Audi Q5, and it has one very exciting powertrain…
Porsche might be investing heavily in electric power, despite a significant scale back last year, but that doesn’t mean it's abandoning the combustion engine. New petrol-powered models are already under development to sit alongside their all-electric counterparts, and the next Macan is the latest to have been spotted undergoing tests.
The car pictured might appear to be an Audi Q5, but cleverly disguised beneath that bodywork are at least some of the workings of the next combustion-powered Porsche Macan. Precisely what it will look like in its final form will be under wraps for quite some time still, but this video courtesy of a keen-eyed Nürburgring car spotter revealed something far more interesting than its design. It produces the unmistakable sound of a V8.
Those with knowledge of Porsche’s SUV back catalogue will know that while the Cayenne has had V8 power from the start, the Macan only ever had four- and six-cylinder power. Until we have official confirmation, there is always the chance that this is a one-off frankenstein mule, and not a sign of a production V8 Macan to come, but it’s certainly intriguing nonetheless.
A total of 434bhp is the maximum output for the current petrol-powered Macan, courtesy of a 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6, but a V8 would lift this number considerably. In the Cayenne, Porsche’s ubiquitous 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 provides anything from 468bhp in the S model, to 729bhp in the plug-in hybrid Turbo E-Hybrid. We’d expect this Macan to sit somewhere between the two, and based on its performance during testing on the Nürburgring, it certainly looks to elevate the model far beyond any variant we’ve seen until now.
We won’t know how Porsche will approach its revived petrol-powered Macan lineup for some time yet, but a market launch in 2028 is the target it set during its Capital Markets Day briefing earlier this year.
Images and video courtesy of Carspotter Jeroen
