ELECTRIC EXTRAVAGANZA

The best-selling Porsche is now electric-only. Will Stuttgart’s brave move pay dividends or will they backtrack on their tall claims?

- WORDS SHIVANK BHATT

Whenever someone asks me about the best sportscar for Indian roads, my answer is always the same, without hesitation - the Porsche Macan. You see, Porsche might have marketed and sold it as an SUV, but they didn't fool anyone with this. The Macan was essentially a high-riding sportscar. The way it steered, stopped, sounded, and thundered along - it felt every bit as thrilling as any other Porsche. The only difference? You didn't have to care about road imperfections. In other words - it was perfect for India, period.

But Porsche has now done the unthinkable, or so feel the purists. They have discontinued the Macan that we so loved and adored. Instead, they've come up with an all-new version that feels like an antithesis to everything the original version stood for. The latest iteration of the Macan is electric only - plain blasphemy, some might say. And given that the Macan has long been Porsche's cash cow - the company's best-selling product for nearly a decade - the move to the EV version raises the stakes even higher.

Here is the thing though: while Porsche seems to be swimming against the tide, it's not their first rodeo. Time and again, they have proved the naysayers wrong. After driving the new Macan Turbo Electric, all I can say is that it's another foot-in-the-mouth for the usual Porsche cynics. Because goodness gracious, this thing is phenomenal to drive!

REFINED AGGRESSION