New Porsche supercar to balance 7-seat SUV and petrol Macan in upmarket future lineup
Company boss Michael Leiters announces his five-year plan, which will grow top-end models and slash costs
Porsche is exploring a “mid-engined super-sports car” alongside three confirmed new models: a flagship seven-seat SUV, a mid-size combustion SUV to replace the discontinued Macan and a mid-engined electric sports car.
The sports car maker confirmed its new model blitz during a company presentation, with recently appointed CEO Dr Michael Leiters laying out Porsche’s five-year strategy.
The supercar – tipped to break cover soon as a concept previewing Porsche’s future design direction – would be a successor to the brand’s 21st century supercars, the V10-powered Carrera GT and plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder. “We are developing a super-sports car platform, and we intend to use it as the basis for a new mid-engine sports car sitting clearly above the 911,” Leiters told media including Auto Express at its Weissach HQ.
The 911-beater embodies Porsche’s determination to push upmarket, as it seeks to restore its financial fortunes after a torrid 2025. The firm issued several profit warnings, due to a perfect storm of US tariffs, a collapse in Chinese demand for western car brands, battery investment write-downs and the discontinuation of both the combustion Macan and the 718 Boxster/Cayman.
Leiters confirmed both cars will be replaced in the next two years. The electric 718 Boxster replacement – which Auto Express experienced dynamically at the event – will go on sale in 2027. The car has softened Leiter’s attitude to electric performance cars; in his previous job as McLaren Automotive CEO, he ruled out an electric McLaren saying the technology wasn’t mature enough for supercars.
“I was very, very skeptical about the 718 electric, to be honest, but that lasted only until I drove it for the first time – it is an absolutely fantastic sports car,” he enthused.
An SUV to replace the petrol and hybrid Macan will follow in 2028, with Dr Leiters confirming: “The ICE Macan [successor] is in collaboration with Audi and sits on an Audi platform, as did the first-generation Macan.”
The selected architecture is Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Combustion, which underpins Audi’s latest generation SUVs. Power will come from pure combustion and plug-in hybrid drivetrains.
Porsche’s seven-seater SUV
Another SUV is expected later in the five-year plan, a three-row flagship vehicle aimed at Porsche’s biggest market, North America. This Cayenne-topping SUV epitomises Porsche’s strategic push upmarket, with the brand determined to focus on “value over volume”.
The sports car maker will grow revenues by offering more models at higher price points, and more opportunities for its wealthiest fans to indulge their passions. That means copying Italian supercar makers’ “few off” model approach, expanding the customer racing line-up including more Manthey Racing cars and accessories, and boosting individualisation options.
Today the top 10 per cent of costliest Porsches transact at an average selling price of €270,000; the goal is to increase this to more than €330,000. As well as driving revenues, Porsche vows to cut development costs by 20 per cent and slim the workforce by more than 9,000 people. As a result the company’s breakeven point will drop to 200,000 units; last year Porsche retailed just under 280,000 cars, itself a 10 per cent drop on 2024.
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