Porsche's Gas-Powered Macan Replacement Is Hiding Under This Widebody Audi Q5

Porsche's had a rough few years, to say the least, and its product plans have been constantly changing as the electric car market (particularly in the U.S.) and global economies also change. The first-generation Porsche Macan had to die, not because its internal combustion engines were going to be outlawed but because it couldn't meet other modern technological regulations. Porsche introduced the Macan Electric as what was going to be its sole replacement, but now the automaker is pivoting and also working on a new gas-powered compact crossover.

It's pretty early on in the development of this thing — Porsche really only just confirmed it for production this week — so it'll be a while before we get any technical details and start seeing prototypes using the real design. Porsche is already hard at work on it, though, and this test mule is proof. Hiding under this modified Audi Q5 body is Porsche's new compact SUV, which is rumored to be called Octan. As the first-gen Macan used the same MLB platform as the first-gen Q5, this new Porsche will use the same Premium Platform Combustion architecture as Audis like the Q5 and A5.

Our spies caught this test mule at the Nürburgring, and there's a lot of details that give away what it really is. Earlier mules haven't been quite as extreme, looking really just like a Q5, but this one has a totally custom front end with massive air intakes, both at the corners and in the center of the bumper where the Q5's grille would be. There's radiators behind all of the openings, which suggests the car will have a potent powertrain. Porsche has confirmed the SUV will be offered with four-cylinder and V6 engines, probably evolutions of the existing ones, and there will be at least one plug-in-hybrid option, probably a top-end Turbo model.

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It doesn't look like the mule's wheelbase has been stretched, but it's fitted with larger wheel arches that then have foam pieces put on to make them even wider; those along with all the foam triangles on the underside of the car are for testing aerodynamics and other data points. There are quad exhaust tips taken straight off an old Macan, also a sign that this mule has the V6 engine under the hood.

Porsche says this B-segment SUV will be revealed in 2028 and be sold alongside the Macan EV, with the company remarking that it's "expected to make a noticeable contribution to sales and profitability in 2029 following the ramp-up of series production in 2028." Between now and then, we'll probably see the reveal of the Audi RS Q5, which should give us a nice glimpse at the performance capability of this platform.