A next-gen gas powered Porsche Macan may have been spotted in Europe, sort of. A de-badged Audi Q5 “mule” believed to be fitted with Porsche’s prototype powertrain was snapped whipping along in the melting snow somewhere in Scandinavia.
Porsche was caught cold weather testing an old Audi Q5 amongst the rest of its lineup last year. The “Audi” saw extensive performance testing then leading to speculation that it was essentially packed with Macan components. Now the company is seemingly doing the same thing with the all-black Q5 seen in the spy shots we’ve acquired. The newer Q5 sits higher, and has a wider stance than its predecessor, which is further evidence in itself.
Porsche’s upcoming SUV is set to be built on the same platform as this Q5, “Volkswagen Group’s PPC (Premium Platform Combustion) architecture.” The platform will include four-cylinder, V6 Turbo, and PHEV variants, but let’s be honest we’re only interested in a proper combustion-powered Porsche.
The Macan EV is going to stay in production until 2029 at the very least, which has led to speculation any future ICE-powered “Macans” would carry a different name. Like the Porsche Octan. But the German sports car manufacturer has suggested that a new generation of Macan will land in 2028, without confirming the exact powertrain it intends to use.
Given Porsche’s recent troubles, I wouldn’t write a gas Macan of yet. In fact, a new gas-powered version of its bestseller might be exactly what the company needs to turn things around.
Can a new gas-powered Macan save Porsche
If you’ve been paying attention to the news in recent weeks, Porsche is in a fair amount of trouble. The canary down the mine shaft was its factory racing team pulling out of Le Mans, and now it turns out the company’s pivot to EVs was so catastrophic that the losses have torpedoed the entire Volkswagen group.
Porsche’s profits tanked by 98% in 2025, with 10% fewer vehicle deliveries, declining sales in all markets outside of the US, and Chinese sales dropping by more than a quarter. Porsche, like Tesla and Volkswagen on the whole, is finding out the Chinese EV market is pretty saturated and its former customer base prefers the nicer domestic stuff to iconic European brands.
The company’s new CEO aims to turn things around by pivoting back to combustion cars, and slimming down the company’s lineup. The Porsche 911 and Cayenne SUV may be leading the charge to some degree, and the Porsche 718 may have gotten a reprieve after spending some time on the chopping block. But the real solution to Porsche’s problems might lie with the brand’s other SUV.
If there’s anything that can turn Porsche’s fortunes around, it’s a Macan with an internal combustion engine. Yes, the electric Macan (and Porsche EVs on the whole), were a huge flop. But the regular old Macan is the best selling vehicle Porsche has ever made.
People absolutely love the reliable, luxury-focused, small SUV. Which is why you see them pretty much everywhere. Hopefully the powertrain that test Q5 was packing is half-decent, as Porsche really needs an off-track win at the moment.
