New Porsche K1 is rapid seven-seat luxury EV set for 2027

A seven-seat, off-road-capable luxury electric crossover is being primed by Porsche to arrive in 2027 as a new range-topper that will take on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and BMW iX. 

It will be unlike any previous Porsche production model, say sources privy to early design proposals, with a length stretching beyond five metres and a profile that is “part saloon, part crossover”. 

CEO Oliver Blume has described the car, known under the internal codename K1, as “a very sporting interpretation of an SUV”. 

When it arrives, the advanced four-wheel-drive flagship will head a growing Porsche line-up, consisting of seven individual models. The K1 will offer the latest in synchronous electric motor, high-performance battery and rapid-charging technology – developments that, insiders at the company’s Zuffenhausen headquarters in Germany say, will extend its price well beyond the £150,500 of the existing internal-combustion-engined Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT. 

Already three years in conception and planning, the new Porsche model aims to build on the success of the Porsche Cayenne and Porsche Macan, Porsche’s two best-selling models over the past two decades, as well as last year. The K1 is intended to support this trend with a combination of sportiness and utility that, it is hoped, will appeal to customers in its two largest markets: North America and China. 

When it arrives, it will become the fifth electric-powered Porsche model after the Porsche Taycan, next year’s electric Macan, an electric Porsche Boxster/Porsche Cayman pairing due in 2025 and an electric version of the Cayenne tentatively planned for launch in 2026. 

Having recently been listed on the stock exchange, Porsche is positioning itself as a leader in electric car technology. “We have a clear strategy to drive electrification forward over the next few years, aiming to deliver over 80% fully electric vehicles by 2030. It’s a very strong upward curve,” said Blume of Porsche’s sales targets. 

Porsche has yet to give any clues to the K1’s design, but its key attributes are said to include a unique silhouette with a short bonnet by Porsche standards, a steeply raked windscreen and a curved roof that extends into a liftback-style tailgate. To give the new Porsche suitable off-road capabilities, it is also said to feature considerable ride height in its most extreme driving mode. Ground clearance will be adjusted via sophisticated air suspension with multiple settings. 

The basis for the K1 is expected to be the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), given that it will share a production line with the upcoming PPE-mounted electric Macan, which is due in 2024. 

The K1 was previously billed to sit on Porsche’s adaptation of parent Volkswagen Group’s Scalable Systems Platform, known as SSP Sport, but VW has confirmed a delay to the platform, originally due in the latter part of the decade.