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Worried about demonetization? This might cheer you up. Porsche has launched a Macan with a new four-cylinder engine. The best part about it? They have priced it at Rs 76.84 lakhs (ex-showroom, Maharastra), which is not only , over Rs 20 lakh cheaper than the next most expensive Macan (in this case, the Diesel S), but also, it will become the cheapest Porsche on sale in India at the moment.

If you are thinking, ‘Hey, is this the same four-cylinder engines from the 718 Boxster/Cayman?’, then you are mistaken. Those engines are boxers, while this one is just a good-old inline-four. To deflate your hopes further, is engine is less Porsche and more Audi, and is just another small capacity turbocharged inline-four from the vast Volkswagen parts catalog. In Europe, the new Audi A4s come with this engine, and power figures are unchanged when it is used in the Macan.

However, if you go past the origins of the engine, the Macan R4 is still a pretty fast car. Porsche says the 249 bhp from the engine, combined with the seven-speed dual clutch transmissionĀ and Porsche’s all-wheel-drive, is capable of propelling the R4 to 100 kph from standstill in 6.5 seconds. It might be the cheapest, but Porsche is offering all the important mechanical bits as standard like Porsche’s active suspension system, Porsche Traction Management – which uses an electronically controlled clutch to split the torque between the front and the rear axles, automatic brake differential (ABD) systems and anti-slip regulation (ASR). Also standard are 18-inch wheels, powered seats which are eight-way adjustable, lane departure warning and a powered-tailgate. Of course, as with any other Porsche, you can do a lot of choosing, if you wish to, from the Macan’s option list. For example, the 6.5 seconds zero to hundred time is only possible if the Sport Chrono Package is opted for.