Porsche’s newest baby may be the smallest SUV in its line-up, but the brand clearly has big plans for the car in Singapore, judging by the lavish launch event that local distributor Stuttgart Auto held for the car on 8 July.

The Macan’s local launch, held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium no less, saw more than 1,000 guests in attendance, and the large scale party serves as an indication of how important the Macan could be for the brand, which brings Porsche into a new segment that could see its local sales increase exponentially.

CarBuyer understands that Stuttgart Auto has already sold 200 Macans to customers prior to the official launch, and judging by the very busy salespeople at the event, that number looks set to rise even further. Even then, 200 units is an incredibly impressive figure for the brand, given that Porsche sold 100 cars in the first five months of this year, so the Macan has effectively tripled Porsche’s sales figures in one fell swoop.

And to reward its early customers, the first 23 owners were presented with their new cars right at the launch event itself, and given the opportunity to drive their brand new Macans straight from the event venue back home.

Interestingly, CarBuyer understands that the most popular variant of the Macan thus far is the mid-range Macan S, which retails for $258,888 without COE. The Macan S has a 3.0-litre bi-turbo V6 that produces 340bhp and 460Nm of torque, and is good for a 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.4 seconds, and a top speed of 254km/h.

This despite the fact that there is an entry-level Macan model that goes for 40 grand less ($218,888 without COE), and boasts of a 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four (the first four cylinder Porsche since the 968) that churns out 237bhp and 350Nm of torque, giving it a top speed of 223km/h and goes from 0-100km/h in 6.9 seconds.

The other two models in the Macan line-up at launch is the range-topping Macan Turbo ($356,888 without COE), with a 3.6-litre bi-turbo V6 with 400bhp and 550Nm of torque, a 0-100km/h time of 4.8 seconds, and a top speed of 266km/h, as well as the Macan S Diesel ($249,888 without COE), with a 3.0-litre turbo diesel unit that produces 258bhp and 580Nm of torque, and is capable of a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 230km/h. Additionally, there is a four-cylinder diesel variant planned for other markets, but given the slow take-up rate of diesel cars here, that version is not likely to make it here for the foreseeable future.

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