Image Credit: Porsche.
Did you know that car manufacturers have midlife crises? Usually, this involves slapping a badge on a bicycle or selling a branded toaster. But Porsche? Oh no. The lads from Stuttgart don't do things by halves. They've looked at the ocean - a place famously devoid of asphalt - and thought, "You know what that big wet wobbly bit needs? A Macan."
So, they've gone and built a boat. Again. You might remember when they teamed up with the Austrian shipyard Frauscher to build the 850 Fantom Air, a vessel so fast and expensive it made my eyes water just reading the press release. Apparently, that was just the appetizer. Now they're back with the Frauscher x Porsche 790 Spectre, and to make sure we all pay attention, they've built a one-off car to match it: the Macan Turbo Concept Lago. I guess nothing says "practical family SUV" like wooden floor mats you're terrified to step on.
Image Credit: Porsche.
Let's start with the four-wheeled part of this equation. The Macan Turbo Concept Lago is what happens when you let the Sonderwunsch ("special wish") department drink too much schnapps and watch The Hunt for Red October. The Macan in question is painted in a hue called Darkteal Metallic, which comes from their Paint to Sample program. It's a lovely color, admittedly - somewhere between "angry Atlantic" and "expensive suit." But the madness is on the inside.
Porsche has ripped out the sensible carpeting and replaced it with real wood. Yes, actual timber. The front and rear luggage compartments are lined with it, styled to look like the deck of a yacht. It looks absolutely magnificent, right up until the moment you have to put something in it. I can just picture the scene: "Sorry, darling, we can't go grocery shopping, the milk might mess up the teak."
Image Credit: Porsche.
And it gets better. They've taken the Sport Chrono stopwatch - a device used by exactly zero Macan owners to time their laps to the school run - and replaced it with a compass. A compass! In a car with a GPS! I suppose it's helpful if you drive off a pier and need to navigate your way back to civilization while floating, but as this Macan doesn't actually float, it's about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
The seats are trimmed in marine-grade fabric and Crayon leather, with Night Green stitching. It's all very nautical, very "ahoy there," and very, very silly. But in that lovable, over-engineered German way that makes you grin despite yourself.
Image Credit: Porsche.
Now, to the actual vessel. The Frauscher x Porsche 790 Spectre isn't just a boat with a Porsche badge glued to the hull. It's essentially a Macan that learned to swim. Underneath the sleek, new lightweight hull sits the exact same 100 kWh battery and dual electric motor setup you'd find in the road car.
However, there is a slight discrepancy in the numbers, which I find hilarious. On the road, the Macan Turbo produces a very serious 630 horsepower. But put that same powertrain in the water, and it's tuned to 536 horsepower. Presumably, the missing 94 horses drowned.
Image Credit: Porsche.
At 26 feet long (7,970 mm for you metric fans), the Spectre is a wee bit smaller than its predecessor, but it's lighter and supposedly more agile. The cockpit is dripping with Porsche DNA. You get a proper Porsche steering wheel - which feels odd on a boat, like steering a bathtub with a PlayStation controller - and the seats are lifted straight from the car design studio. The whole thing is customizable, of course. If you have enough cash, you can paint your boat to match your Macan, so everyone at the marina knows exactly who the obsessive weirdo is.
But here is where this lovely comedy turns into tragedy. You can order the 790 Spectre right now. But if you have to ask the price, you definitely can't afford it. Porsche and Frauscher are keeping the exact sticker price close to their chests, but let's look at the history. The previous electric boat cost around $600,000. For that money, you could buy five standard Macan Turbo Electrics (which start at a paltry $112,700), or you could buy a very nice house in the Scottish Highlands.
Image Credit: Porsche.
But no. This is for the person who has everything and still feels an emptiness that can only be filled by a silent, electric speedboat that matches their SUV. Look, I'm always skeptical. I'm a cynical old hack who thinks cars should stay on roads and boats should smell like diesel and salt. But there is something delightfully daft about this whole project.
The engineering is undeniable. Taking a 100 kWh automotive powertrain and making it work in a high-performance boat is no small feat. The Macan Concept Lago is a beautiful, if useless, thing with its wooden floors and compass, and the 790 Spectre is a maritime missile for the eco-conscious billionaire. It's absolute madness. And I kind of want one.
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