Porsche delays four-cylinder Macan

HARD-PRESSED to keep up with demand for six-cylinder versions of its wildly popular Macan SUV, Porsche Cars Australia (PCA) has decided to delay the introduction of the four-cylinder variant until 2017.

Global demand for the new entry-level Porsche is just about to get a whole lot greater with the announcement that the four-pot Macan will be launched in North America – one of Porsche’s biggest markets – at this month’s New York motor show.

When it finally arrives in Australia sometime next year, the Audi-sourced 185kW/370Nm 2.0-litre petrol Macan will be priced below the current most affordable variant, the $91,900 (plus on-roads) Macan S Diesel.

As such, it could be expected to draw even more buyers to the brand – demand that the overstretched Macan factory in Leipzig will struggle to relieve any time soon, especially with US customers now banging on the door.

PCA public relations director Paul Ellis told GoAuto today that Australian Macan buyers were already having to wait an average of four to five months for delivery of six-cylinder Macans.

He said the waiting period for some variants, such as the S Diesel, could be slightly less, and for the high-performance GTS, somewhat more.

As GoAuto reported in February, the queue is down from the 10-month waiting list of last year, thanks to some extra deliveries from Germany.

Mr Ellis said PCA did not see the point in adding to the queues by introducing the four-cylinder Macan at this stage.

“We are not about oversupplying the market,” he said.

Mr Ellis declined to say when the four-cylinder Macan could have been launched, had supply been available.

In Australia, the Macan is already PCA’s top-selling model by some margin, accounting for more than half of all sales in this market.

So far this year, PCA has delivered 540 Macans, a rise of 110 per cent over the first two months of 2015.

Meanwhile, PCA has announced upgrades and price rises for its second-best seller, the Cayenne SUV flagship, for the 2017 model year.

The price rises vary across the range, from $1800 for base models to $4900 for the S Diesel.

All variants now get the new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system digital radio as standard, bringing sat-nav and voice control with a seven-inch screen, along with digital radio.

Porsche Connect Plus becomes a $590 option, bringing Apply CarPlay via the new PCM that is being rolled out across all other Porsche models.

The base Cayenne and Cayenne Diesel get active suspension and 14-way power front seats that were previously optional.

The Cayenne range now starts at $107,900 (plus on-roads) for the Cayenne Diesel and tops out at $287,500 for the Cayenne Turbo S.

Porsche dealers have already started taking orders for the updated Cayenne, with deliveries expected to start late in the third quarter of this year.

So far this year, Cayenne sales are up 46.6 per cent, to 277 units.

2017 Porsche Cayenne pricing*

Model	Price	Price change
Cayenne (a)	$109,400	+$1800
Cayenne Diesel (a)	$107,900	+$1800
Cayenne S E-Hybrid (a)	$143,100	+$2300
Cayenne S (a)	$143,500	+$2300
Cayenne S Diesel (a)	$149,300	+$4900
Cayenne GTS (a)	$156,400	+$2200
Cayenne Turbo (a)	$235,600	+$2700
Cayenne Turbo S (a)	$287,500	+$3200

*Excludes on-road costs