The upcoming Porsche seven-seater flagship SUV will be powered by V8 and V6 engines, following cancellation of the German manufacturer’s plans for the flagship SUV to use an electric powertrain, reported Autocar.
Said to be known internally at Porsche as the K1, the flagship seven-seater SUV is expected to be offered in a range of seating configurations, including four-, five- and seven-seat layouts, according to the report, thus placing in the realm of models such as the Mercedes-Benz GLS and the BMW X7.
This will be built on the Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) base, which is set to underpin the Audi Q9, also an upcoming seven-seater flagship SUV. The decision to base Porsche’s K1 SUV flagship is to help the brand offset the cost of developing its new battery-electric models, such as the the latest Cayenne, according to the report’s sources.
The PPC platform has been engineered to use a range of longitudinally-oriented engines, and the K1 Porsche seven-seater is expected to be powered by a range of twin-turbo V8 and V6 engines as found in the ICE-powered Cayenne that will continue to be on sale alongside its BEV sibling.
While it appears that the K1 is planned for launch with internal combustion powertrains, battery-electric versions of the flagship seven-seater SUV are still being planned, Porsche has told Autocar, according to the report. The ICE and PHEV versions of the K1 are expected to debut around 12 months after the initial roll-out of the Audi Q9, which is set for next year, the publication wrote.
The upcoming Porsche seven-seater SUV is expected to be built on the same production lines as the Audi Q9 at the Volkswagen Group plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, where the electric Cayenne is being produced; this points to production potential for a battery-electric version of the K1. The BEV K1 was initially planned for production at Porsche’s Leipzig plant, though rising costs have forced plans for a cheaper alternative, the report wrote.
GALLERY: Porsche Cayenne Electric
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