The baby Cayenne is back from high-altitude testing and now awaits its world premiere.

When it was teasing the Cayenne E-Hybrid back in the second half of February, Porsche showed several camouflaged prototypes getting dusty in South Africa. It looks like the facelifted Macan was nearby as the folks from Stuttgart have now released images and footage of the smaller SUV during high-altitude testing in Lesotho. An enclaved country in southern Africa, the Kingdom of Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa and served as the venue where Porsche conducted final testing of the 2019 Macan at heights of up to 3,400 meters (11,155 feet) above the sea level.

Described by Porsche as “the sports car masquerading as a compact SUV,” the Macan was put through its paces on difficult terrain to demonstrate its off-road prowess. The updated version will have some big shoes to fill considering the pre-facelift model has generated more than 350,000 sales worldwide ever since its launch back in 2014. To fully understand how successful the Macan has been for Porsche, last year it outsold the mighty 911 by an incredible three-to-one margin.

See more of the 2019 Macan:

2019 Porsche Macan Turbo Facelift Caught With Very Little Camo
2019 Porsche Macan Spied Inside With Larger Infotainment Screen

While official details about the 2019 Macan are scant at the time being, latest reports are indicating a power boost across the entire range. For example, the base model will allegedly go up from 248 hp to almost 300 hp, while the hotter Macan S will see its power increase by 20 hp to 355 hp. The flagship Turbo is expected to gain an extra 40 hp, which would give it a meaty 434 hp.

Those eager to buy a shiny new Macan powered by a diesel engine are in for a disappointment as there won’t be one, nor will there be a hybrid variant in this generation.

Beyond the changes that will occur underneath the hood, the facelift will bring discreet exterior styling tweaks and a reworked dashboard to accommodate a bigger infotainment system. Other modifications in tow include the use of more aluminum in the suspension to shave weight, along revised handling, and the option for tungsten-coated brakes featuring white calipers. Porsche has also spent some time fiddling with the ride quality, so the 2019 Macan should prove to be smoother and more comfortable.

The latest teaser published today announces a market launch in China at the end of the month, so an online reveal is slated to take place in the coming days.

Source: Porsche

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The new Macan in high-altitude training

Having been extensively revised, the Macan will shortly be entering the second half of its model life cycle. As usual at Porsche, all new components have undergone extensive load tests over the last few months, including recently in South Africa.

The Macan is a genuine success story: Since 2014, Porsche has delivered more than 350,000 units worldwide. The compact SUV has now been significantly enhanced in terms of its design, comfort, connectivity and driving dynamics, All new components and applications were subjected to extreme loads as part of the testing. In South Africa, the facelifted Macan had to prove on particularly rough asphalt, dusty gravel roads and hostile mountain passages that it is ready for the upcoming market launch in China at the end of July. Coordinator Ralf Bosch and his testing crew took the camouflaged prototypes up to a height of 3,400 metres above sea level in Lesotho. There, the sports car masquerading as a compact SUV also impressively demonstrated its off-road capabilities.