Though most in the auto industry have been referring to Porsche's new small SUV as the "Cajun", Stuttgart has announced that their new sports car in the SUV segment has been given the name Macan. The name Macan is derived from the Indonesian word for tiger and combines suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics - core characteristics of the new off-road car.

"The Macan combines all sports car characteristics with the benefits of a SUV and is a genuine Porsche", said Bernhard Maier, Member of the Executive Board Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG. "The name of a new Porsche has to fit with the brand, sound good in very many languages and dialects and evoke positive associations."

As the fifth Porsche model line, the Macan is a central plank of Porsche's Strategy 2018, by which the sports car manufacturer wishes to expand its model portfolio. Porsche intends the Macan to emulate the success of the Cayenne. The SUV will start coming off the production lines in Leipzig in 2013. To that end, the site in Saxony is being expanded into a fully-fledged production plant including body assembly line and paint shop - with 500 million euro of investment one of the biggest building projects in Porsche's corporate history. In the medium-term, the sports car manufacturer will be creating more than 1,000 new jobs in Leipzig.

Word names at Porsche have always had a concrete connection with the corresponding model and its characteristics: the name Boxster describes the combination of boxer engine and roadster, Cayenne stands for sharpness, the Cayman is snappy and agile and a Panamera is more than a Gran Turismo, capable also of winning the Carrera Panamericana long-distance race.

Stay connected to Prestige Porsche for more information on the new Porsche Macan. We will be updating the blog and our social media pages as new information becomes available.

Source: Porsche