Porsche’s The upcoming flagship SUV, codenamed K1, has changed dramatically during development.
Autocar The K1, which was previously confirmed to be an all-electric model, will reportedly be offered with V6 and V8 engines as well as plug-in hybrid powertrains.
The K1 is expected to launch in the UK in 2028 and will reportedly share Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture with the upcoming Audi Q9 to offset the high development costs of its electric vehicles (EVs).
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Like the Q9, which is scheduled to be launched in 2027, it will reportedly be built in Slovakia due to rising manufacturing costs in Germany.
While it will be larger than the Cayenne and offer a seven-seat layout – a first for Porsche – Autocar It will also reportedly be offered with four- and five-seat layouts.
Like the Q9, the K1 will take on models such as the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS and will primarily focus on markets such as the US, the Middle East and China.
Engines are said to include a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine and a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine. The current Cayenne features a 3.0-litre V6 turbocharged petrol engine and a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine, with both engines available with plug-in hybrid systems, so the K1 won’t be a radical departure.
An electric version will still be launched, slotting in above the premium platform electric versions Macan Electric and Cayenne Electric.
This gives Porsche a trio of electric SUVs as well as a trio of combustion-powered SUVs with the K1 at the top, the Cayenne in the middle and a new PPC-based midsize SUV codenamed M1, which will be a de facto replacement for the old petrol Macan.
The K1 was confirmed in 2023 as a purely electric model based on the SSP Sport platform, before Porsche announced in September 2025 that it would stop developing this platform. Porsche boss Oliver Blume confirmed that the market launch had been postponed “until well into the 2030s”.
At the same time, Porsche confirmed that its new flagship SUV – called D-SUV according to European segmentation – would come to market with combustion or plug-in hybrid powertrains.
This was not only due to delays in the SSP Sport platform, but also due to “a significant decline in demand for exclusive battery-electric cars,” according to Blume.
Porsche has also been hit by tariffs in the US, declining demand in China and a lengthy development program for the 718 electric replacement sports car, all of which have contributed to losses for the German brand.
The company confirmed last September that it would extend the life cycles of all combustion-powered models still in production, noting that “new generations of successor models have been added to the cycle plan for these vehicle models,” while the launch of “certain” all-electric models will be delayed.
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