Porsche has just launched the second-generation Macan in an all-electric avatar and promptly updated its U.S. website with an online configurator, which allows personalization with just a few clicks, facilitated by 3D visuals and a gazillion trim and spec options to choose from. The Macan nameplate might refer to the entry-level Porsche, but when you dive into the options, you’ll quickly realize that there’s nothing entry-level about it. (The 718 is technically the cheapest Porsche)
The MSRP of the Macan Turbo Electric, the more powerful and expensive of the two variants launched, is $105,300 before delivery fees. But open the online configurator, as a fan, hobbyist, or serious buyer, and you can add more than $56,000 worth of equipment or a little more than the MSRP of the Tesla Model Y Performance (also a seriously fast EV). It’s far from the endless rabbit hole like the configurator of the lascivious 911 S/T but it is quite comprehensive nonetheless.
I configured the Macan Electric to analyze the maximum options and managed to add $56,340 worth of equipment, taking the Turbo's base price of $105,300 to a whopping $163,290.
It’s no doubt an esoteric indulgence, but if you’re an enthusiast, here’s some stuff: The most expensive item is a set of 22-inch lightweight carbon fiber wheels with aero blades, made out of forged alloy. The set costs $7,410 and is part of Porsche’s “Exclusive Manufaktur” kit, which means that it is highly personalized and unique. The second most expensive option is deviated stitching for most A-surface areas in the cabin, setting you back by $4,730.
If you’re a music connoisseur, you could add the 1,470-watt Burmester sound system with 21 speakers and a 400-watt subwoofer. Up next, there’s the newest augmented reality head-up display costing $2,520. Porsche says the AR system is effectively a virtual screen spanning 87 inches diagonally, and it displays information in the driver's field of vision. However, it can only be used to a limited extent while wearing polarized sunglass lenses.
You’d be surprised to know that it’s not these major pieces of technology that lead to that whopping $169,290 figure. It’s the smaller items that can collectively cost a fortune, like $370 for the rear windshield wiper, or $1,570 for a passenger display so that your co-driver can have a dedicated entertainment screen, and bespoke floor mats with leather edging which many of us would agree shouldn’t cost $1,270.
Gallery: Porsche Macan (2024)
The rear-axle-steering, which InsideEVs tested during the first drive review of the prototype last year, is also an option costing a shade over $2,000. And last, but not least, and also ironically the one I found the most interesting: $840 for a leather wallet to store an extraordinarily important item—ahem, clears throat—the Macan Electric's user manual.
All said. You don’t have to go bananas configuring the Macan Electric. You can get exactly what you want for a lot less than what I just attempted here. Porsche letting everyone experiment with its configurator is a rather delightful and fun element of its options strategy. Have a design to share? Feel free to tell us all that you added in the comments below.
