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Old 03-21-2023, 12:45 PM   #41
lemming
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Question —why does Porsche use the EA888 in the Macan instead of the 4 cylinder motors from the 718?
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Old 03-21-2023, 12:56 PM   #42
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Question —why does Porsche use the EA888 in the Macan instead of the 4 cylinder motors from the 718?
The 718's 4 cylinder is a completely different architecture (it's a flat-four vs an inline 4). Since the Macan is based on the Audi-derived MLB platform, it wasn't designed to take that enigne (but was of course designed with the EA888 in mind). Similarly, the EA888 wouldn't fit on the 718 platform.
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Old 03-26-2023, 04:35 PM   #43
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Porsche GTI

Stopped by the Porsche dealer today to checkout a CPO taycan they had listed for 83k. While I was there I checked out some of the macans on the showroom floor and was pleasantly surprised that:
-the standard leather seats have a nice smooth finish instead of the pebbly texture I remember previously (the armrest is still covered with the cheap stuff unfortunately)
-adaptive cruise control is now standard! I’d never thought I’d see the day when Porsche made that standard. I guess even for Porsche there’s a limit to the absurdity of charging 2k for an option that’s standard on 25k jettas.

Also saw a macan T with the cloth interior. Kinda cool


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Old 03-27-2023, 09:56 AM   #44
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The 718's 4 cylinder is a completely different architecture (it's a flat-four vs an inline 4). Since the Macan is based on the Audi-derived MLB platform, it wasn't designed to take that enigne (but was of course designed with the EA888 in mind). Similarly, the EA888 wouldn't fit on the 718 platform.
I figured. It’s a nice engine.

I just don’t understand why Porsche doesn’t use its engines more broadly. It’s an expensive business model to keep the 718 4.0L and the 718 4 cylinder engines as custom for the 718.
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Old 03-27-2023, 10:49 AM   #45
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I figured. It’s a nice engine.

I just don’t understand why Porsche doesn’t use its engines more broadly. It’s an expensive business model to keep the 718 4.0L and the 718 4 cylinder engines as custom for the 718.
Indeed. I guess they charge high enough prices to cover the cost and give themselves a nice margin though... To take it to an extreme, Ferrari only produces a few thousand vehicles a year and is one of the most profitable car brands. So it can be done...for a price.

My guess is that Porsche/VW group have determined that there are certain things that need to remain exclusive to the brand such as flat engines. FWIW, the 4.0L engine in the 718 GTS is derived from the same 9A2 engine that's found in turbocharged form in the 911 range. And even the flat 4 engine is derived from the same architecture; so I suppose they get some economies of scale (though not much). Here's a press release from Porsche that talks about the shared underpinnings of their current flat engines: https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2020...394-20340.html

It was even weirder when Porsche used to have its own line of V6 and v8 engines that it used in the 1st gen Panamera, Macan, etc (likely because they were developed before Porsche was fully owned by VW). I believe all the current v6/v8 engines are now shared with Audi.

Last edited by robg; 03-27-2023 at 11:02 AM.
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Old 03-27-2023, 10:54 AM   #46
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Indeed. I guess they charge high enough prices to cover the cost and give themselves a nice margin though... To take it to an extreme, Ferrari only produces a few thousand vehicles a year and is one of the most profitable car brands. So it can be done...for a price.

My guess is that Porsche/VW group have determined that there are certain things that need to remain exclusive to the brand such as flat engines. FWIW, the 4.0L engine in the 718 GTS is derived from the same 9A2 engine that's found in turbocharged form in the 911 range. And even the flat 4 engine is derived from the same architecture; so I suppose they get some economies of scale (though not much). Here's an press release from Porsche that talks about the shared underpinnings of their current flat engines: https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2020...394-20340.html
It’s obvious that the SUVs and the Panamera are the badge wh0re cars. So they repurpose VAG engines. And mint money.

That written, I love the Macan for what it is. Does all of the things well that are dealbreakers for me in other utility vehicles. Handles okay. Is aerodynamic. Brakes are meh but not terrible. And the engine is okay. 3rd gear might be geared too widely, or the engine has no guts (or both) but accelerating from 65 to 90mph is the one place where I’m reminded it has a very basic engine. I’m sure the Macan S/GTS would solve for that, but it’s not worth the extra $40-50,000 to me. Because. It’s still just a Macan.

Thanks for the link for the boxer engine architecture.
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Old 03-27-2023, 11:15 AM   #47
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Originally Posted by lemming View Post
It’s obvious that the SUVs and the Panamera are the badge wh0re cars. So they repurpose VAG engines. And mint money.

That written, I love the Macan for what it is. Does all of the things well that are dealbreakers for me in other utility vehicles. Handles okay. Is aerodynamic. Brakes are meh but not terrible. And the engine is okay. 3rd gear might be geared too widely, or the engine has no guts (or both) but accelerating from 65 to 90mph is the one place where I’m reminded it has a very basic engine. I’m sure the Macan S/GTS would solve for that, but it’s not worth the extra $40-50,000 to me. Because. It’s still just a Macan.

Thanks for the link for the boxer engine architecture.
To be fair to the current Panamera, Porsche actually did the engineering for that platform (I think its called MSB or something) and its now shared with Bentley models. The Taycan/etron GT's J1 platform is basically a modified version of this.

I dont think an S needs to cost 40k more than the base. I did notice that pretty much all the Macans on my local dealers lot were base models that stickered above 70k. I just did a quick build of an S online and it came to 75k. https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PPRMIF51

I'm sure there's some silly thing it's missing but at a glance it seems to have all the stuff you'd want in a compact crossover. I think if I could buy a lightly specced Macan S and get maybe a 10% discount off sticker, I'd consider it. Unlikely to happen though since i'm sure it would require a custom order. Residual values are insanely high for the Macan (something like 65% after 3 years/30k) which would also help to keep the TCO reasonable.

They were asking about 65k for an ex service loaner Macan T fwiw (didn't check to see what the original sticker was on it)

And the Macan is elgible for european delivery too...now this has me thinking. lol.

Last edited by robg; 03-27-2023 at 11:28 AM.
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Old 03-27-2023, 11:16 AM   #48
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Seems pretty straight forward to me. All the SUVs share platforms with VAG thus just use shared engines. 718/911 do not share platforms, Porsche only, thus have Porsche engines.

I forget if the Panamera shares a platform from VAG.
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Old 03-27-2023, 11:25 AM   #49
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Seems pretty straight forward to me. All the SUVs share platforms with VAG thus just use shared engines. 718/911 do not share platforms, Porsche only, thus have Porsche engines.

I forget if the Panamera shares a platform from VAG.
Panamera now shares a plaform w/ Bentley...but it was developed by Porsche.
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Old 03-27-2023, 12:18 PM   #50
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Originally Posted by Jeff_DML View Post
Seems pretty straight forward to me. All the SUVs share platforms with VAG thus just use shared engines. 718/911 do not share platforms, Porsche only, thus have Porsche engines.

I forget if the Panamera shares a platform from VAG.
Think their engines are Audi engines. The 2.9L twin turbo V6. And the V8 is the cayenne/QSQ8 gig, or so I thought.
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