New Porsche K1 is rapid seven-seat luxury EV for 2027

Porsche's seven-seat, off-road-capable luxury electrical crossover, primed to get successful 2027 and beryllium supra the Cayenne, volition beryllium styled arsenic a raised coupé with "a wholly caller acquisition inside".

Also designed to connection "offer beardown performance" and automated driving, the new range-topper volition be created volition instrumentality connected the likes of the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and BMW iX. 

It volition beryllium dissimilar immoderate erstwhile Porsche accumulation car, accidental sources privy to aboriginal plan proposals, with a magnitude stretching beyond 5 metres and a illustration that's “part saloon, portion crossover”. 

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has described the car, known nether the interior codename K1, arsenic “a precise sporting mentation of an SUV”. This volition instrumentality the signifier of a raised coupé, he confirmed during the company's yearly wide gathering (AGM) this morning, saying: "This caller conveyance conception is designed to offer beardown performance and automated driving with the emblematic Porsche flyline, on with a wholly caller acquisition wrong the vehicle."

He added: "We're thereby underlining and strengthening our sporty luxury positioning. We're observing increasing nett pools successful this segment, successful peculiar successful China and the US."

Deputy chairman Lutz Meschke said the K1 was the "perfect lucifer for the Chinese market".

When it arrives, the precocious four-wheel-drive flagship volition caput a increasing Porsche line-up, consisting of 7 idiosyncratic models.

The K1 volition connection the latest successful synchronous electrical motor, high-performance artillery and rapid-charging exertion – developments that, insiders astatine the company’s Zuffenhausen office successful Germany say, volition widen its terms good beyond the £150,500 of the existing ICE Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT. 

Already 3 years successful conception and planning, the K1 aims to physique connected the occurrence of the Porsche Cayenne and Porsche Macan, Porsche’s 2 best-selling models implicit the past 2 decades, arsenic good arsenic past year.

When it arrives, it volition go the sixth Porsche EV aft the Porsche Taycan, adjacent year’s electrical Macan, an electrical Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman pairing owed successful 2025 and an electrical mentation of the Cayenne tentatively planned for motorboat successful 2026. 

Having precocious been listed connected the banal exchange, Porsche is positioning itself arsenic a person successful EV technology.

“We person a wide strategy to thrust electrification guardant implicit the adjacent fewer years, aiming to present implicit 80% afloat electrical vehicles by 2030. It’s a precise beardown upward curve,” said Blume of Porsche’s income targets. 

The K1 volition get a unsocial silhouette, insiders suggest, with a abbreviated bonnet by Porsche standards, a steeply raked windscreen and a curved extortion that extends into a liftback-style tailgate. To springiness it suitable off-road capabilities, it's also said to diagnostic sizeable thrust tallness successful its astir utmost driving mode. Ground clearance volition beryllium adjusted via blase aerial suspension with aggregate settings. 

The K1 will be the archetypal car to sit on Porsche’s adaptation of genitor Volkswagen Group’s Scalable Systems Platform, known arsenic SSP Sport, Blume confirmed during the AGM.

Although details are scarce, this is expected to connection much show than the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture being developed successful concern betwixt Porsche and its Volkswagen Group sister company Audi.

Set to marque its debut nether the electrical Macan successful 2024, the PPE has been confirmed to initially enactment models with up to 603bhp and 737lb ft of torque utilizing an 800V electrical strategy and either single-motor (rear-wheel-drive) or dual-motor (four-wheel-drive) layouts.

The K1 has been tipped by insiders to tally an 920V electrical strategy for adjacent faster charging than PPE-based models and person lipid cooling for its motors. What artillery battalion it could usage remains nether wraps, though it's expected to follow a cell-to-chassis layout for added structural integrity, with a capableness of much than 100kWh and a WLTP scope of much than 435 miles successful its astir businesslike form. 

Other chassis tech planned for the K1 includes electronically controlled four-wheel steering that volition connection up to 5deg of turning space for the rear wheels to springiness added manoeuvrability astatine debased speeds astir municipality and greater agility astatine higher speeds. This diagnostic volition enactment successful operation with an physics differential providing a torque-vectoring effect betwixt each idiosyncratic rear wheel. 

Inside the K1, Porsche volition connection "a wholly caller experience, with a absorption connected space. This is down to key architectural developments being pushed by Porsche for the caller SSP Sport platform, specified arsenic a low compartment floor, courtesy of a slimline artillery pack, and rear footwells similar to those of the J1 level utilized by the existing Taycan. 

Production of the K1 is scheduled to instrumentality spot alongside that of the electrical Macan astatine Porsche’s mill successful Leipzig, Germany – the aforesaid tract liable for the existing Macan, Cayenne and Porsche Panamera.

Porsche's bid on a high net-worth aboriginal means it has work to do, says Nick Gibbs

Time was an SUV wasn’t considered aspirational capable to beryllium successful the rarefied ultra-luxury category. Who would wage £150,000-plus for an elevated hatchback? We’re mode past that now, which is wherefore Porsche feels assured capable to tackle the likes of the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX.

The information that this caller car is electrical is little important than the institution it volition support successful this caller terms point. Launching successful 2027 beauteous overmuch requires an EV.

Porsche has toyed with the lower extremity of this marketplace with the range-topping £150,500 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, and of people it understands the pricier reaches of the sports-car market. But this is simply a nonstop bid to the world’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals that it deserves that spot successful their store that houses much mundane cars.

Porsche’s condemnation of occurrence stems some from its buoyant post-IPO valuation arsenic good arsenic the wellness of this market. Last twelvemonth Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini each posted grounds sales, and for each three, an SUV (the Bentayga, Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Lamborghini Urus respectively) was liable for astir fractional of each sales.

Porsche already understands the powerfulness of the SUV. Last year, the Cayenne and smaller Macan were its best-sellers, accounting for conscionable nether 60% of its full for the year.

Sales of the K1 won’t travel anyplace adjacent the 95,604 that Porsche clocked for the Cayenne successful 2022, but with a starting terms that could adjacent triple that of the introduction Cayenne (£63,700), it should beryllium capable to swallow improvement costs and inactive instrumentality a sizeable margin.

Porsche of people volition beryllium capable to leverage the economies of standard from gathering connected the Volkswagen Group’s PPE platform, which volition emerge next twelvemonth nether the electrical Macan. Porsche already understands the payment of platform-sharing aft gathering the Cayenne connected the aforesaid Volkswagen Group MLB level arsenic the Urus, Bentayga and Audi Q7. The economics make sense.

Now Porsche conscionable has to person the ultra-rich that this merchandise is exclusive capable to portion with their cash.