Production of the compact crossover commenced this week, upon completion of a $680m expansion to this gleaming factory, which already produces the Cayenne SUV. The Leipzig plant, whose workforce swelled by 1,500 with the opening of the Macan line, has a busy year ahead of it: Porsche plans to churn out some 50,000 Macans during 2014.

In the US, the Macan reaches dealers this summer. The Macan S features a twin-turbo 3-litre V6 engine producing 340 horsepower, with the Turbo model wringing 400hp from its twin-turbo 3.6-liter V6. Sometime after the gasoline-powered Macans launch, Porsche will introduce the European-market Macan S Diesel to the US, which makes use of a 258hp 3-liter turbodiesel V6.