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Story & Photos: Damon Lowney Courtesy of: Porsche Club of America

Macan T Becomes First Porsche Four-Door To Get ‘Touring’ Treatment

For the past several years, Porsche has made a special T variant of the 911 and 718/Boxster/Cayman model lines, taking a base model and sprucing it up with an exclusive assortment of handling and style upgrades. The automaker has now announced it will give the T treatment to the Macan.

The Macan is the first four-door Porsche to become a T, or Touring, model. That means the base engine present is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 261 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, which is no different from a regular Macan. Porsche notes the engine weighs 129 pounds less than the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 in the S and GTS models. Though Porsche doesn’t mention the full weight of the SUV, we imagine it will be about equal to the regular Macan. The T drops the 0-60 time by 0.2 seconds to 5.8, and the top speed is 144 miles per hour (232 kph), the same as the Macan.

Why the quicker acceleration? This writer believes the standard Sport Chrono Package, which gives the Macan T launch control, has something to do with it, as well as the bespoke Porsche Traction Management (PTM) tuning that’s more biased to the rear wheels. Sport Chrono also means the GT Sport steering wheel fitted has a mode switch dial as well as a Sport Response button for a short burst of extra power.

The Macan T gets active dampers standard (PASM), though air suspension remains optional. If air suspension is equipped, a set of T-specific stiffer anti-roll bars are fitted to improve handling and reduce body roll. PTV Plus torque vectoring is optional as well.

To differentiate it from other Macans, the exterior gets Agate Grey Metallic accents on the front trim, exterior mirrors, side blades, roof spoiler, and rear make and model script. Sport tailpipes and side window surrounds are in gloss black.

Inside, eight-way adjustable heated sports seats are standard, headrests are embossed with the Porsche crest, and silver contrast stitching adorns the seats, headrests, and steering wheel. Porsche has not yet released a price.