Just 24 hours after Porsche listed the new 4-cylinder Macan for sale in a number of Asian countries, the base model made its appearance on the firm's UK site with the footnote, "Special order only. Please contact a Centre".

There's no official statement out yet on the base Macan, which is the first 4-cylinder Porsche in 22 years – it's as if Porsche seems…embarrassed by the addition of the VW Group's EA888 engine 2.0-liter turbo that’s found on lesser models, such as the Skoda Octavia, and prefers to quietly roll out the car without officially telling the press….

As far as pricing is concerned, Autocar magazine managed to find out that in the UK, the 234hp (237PS) Macan 2.0 Turbo is available to order now at a price of £40,276 or a little over £3,000 less than the 335hp (340PS) Macan S V6.

"The Porsche Macan is smart looking and great fun to drive -- both on and off road."

alk into a Porsche dealer today, place an order for a Macan and you'll be looking at a waiting period of six months or more before you can expect delivery. That may be common enough for high-end European automakers, but the Macan is meant to lure new buyers to the brand, and the waitlist could be enough to deter them from sticking around.

The solution? Offer to lease them a Boxster or Cayman until their new Macan arrives. Shorter in term that the usual new-car lease, these six-month terms are designed to keep buyers from turning their backs, all the while experiencing the kind of vehicle Porsche does best.

Of course it doesn't hurt that the dealer then gets a used sports car to sell again once the short-term lease is up. And we wouldn't be surprised to see some buyers asking to hold on to their mid-engined sports car for a little longer, either.

Porsche says it's too early since the launch of the program to tell how many Macan buyers are opting for the short-term leases, but considering how close the prices of the Macan, Boxster and Cayman can be – all starting in the low $50k range – we would be surprised if it weren't a runaway success.

As a tuner of everything wearing the rampant black horse crest from Stuttgart, TechArt couldn't miss out on Porsche's latest and possibly, most popular model, the new Macan. The aftermarket company's first release includes light alloy wheels and interior refinements, which are available immediately, with aerodynamic, suspension and power kits to follow shortly.

TechArt's alloy wheel offerings for the compact premium SUV include four designs available in 20- and 21-inch sizes with space adapters.

For the interior, there's a newly shaped steering wheel with a thick rim and paddle shifters, aluminium pedals and foot rest, passenger and boot area floor mats, illuminated door entry guards and a wide choice of trim materials such as "exotic" wood and carbon fibre. Macan customers can further individualize the Macan's cabin with different leather surfaces for the seats, door panels and dashboard.

In the coming months, the German tuning firm will release suspension packages with sport springs and an electronic lowering module, ECU power-upgrade kits for six-cylinder models, and an aerodynamic program that will include features such as a front spoiler, roof spoiler, rear diffuser, wheel arch extensions and side skirts.

Those who were a bit disappointed about the output of the most powerful variant of the Macan should put down their tar and feathers, as Porsche is readying a Turbo S version of the SUV, as the camouflaged pre-production prototype in the following spy video announces.

Shot by TouriClips on the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife, this camouflaged Macan Turbo may very well be of the “S” variety for two major reasons.

For starters, the Macan has been unveiled for quite some time now, so why would Porsche test a camouflaged model when everyone already knows how it looks like? As for the possibility of being a GTS version, they usually arrive after the top of the range variant.

Currently, there is obviously no official info regarding the specifications of the upcoming Macan Turbo S, but we can certainly guess that it will offer somewhere around 440-450 hp.
The only problem with those numbers would be the fact that the Porsche Macan Turbo S might actually be faster than a Cayenne Turbo, but then again, the two models are already stepping on each other's toes as it is.

For what it's worth, the Cayenne remains exclusive for the V8 crowd, while the Macan's largest engine will still remain a “puny” V6. With the “regular” Macan Turbo hitting 100 km/h (62 mph) from 0 in just 4.8 seconds, can you guess how much faster will the Turbo S could be?