Eager to launch the all-new Porsche Cayenne Electric with the right amount of fanfare, the German brand went looking for a very special stunt, and it settled on one involving the largest aircraft in the world. While we’re not sure it’s as impressive as the time VW used a Touareg V10 TDI to tow a Boeing 747 two decades ago, it’s a decent effort all the same.

The whole thing took place at the Mojave Air and Space Port and involved Roc, the plane with the largest wingspan on Earth. The thing is so enormous it has two fuselages and can take off fully loaded at up to 1.3 million pounds (589,670 kg).

Read: Porsche’s New Cayenne Coupe EV Hits 60 As Fast As The 911 Turbo S And Can Still Tow Your Boat

In the past, we’ve seen plenty of supercars racing fighter jets off the line, but extracting maximum acceleration from the Cayenne Electric to outpace Roc wasn’t the objective here. Instead, Porsche wanted to trail behind Roc as it sped down the runway before taking off, in what it describes as a “test of precision, stability and power.”

To keep the Cayenne, and driver Patrick Long, safe, the SUV had to be positioned perfectly in between the plane’s two fuselages. If positioned too far back, it’d be hit by the jet blast from the plane’s six powerful engines that combine to deliver 340,500 lbs (154,448 kg) of thrust, enough to throw the Porsche into the air. Too far forward and Long could have been at risk of hitting the landing gear.

As Roc accelerated down the runway, Long had to push the Cayenne Electric through to 167 mph (269 km/h) and then got the perfect view of the massive plane taking off mere feet away from him.

“It was probably one of the most focused and intense moments of my life,” Long said. “We believed in the data, and I knew I could rely on the Cayenne and the pilots of Roc – we had a good team. Operating with a fully charged battery, we started slow – I was using minimal power and holding the car exactly where it needed to be, and I knew I had the performance to maintain my position no matter what.”

The new Cayenne Electric was the obvious weapon of choice for this stunt. The current flagship Cayenne Turbo Electric uses a pair of electric motors delivering up to 1,138 hp and 1,106 lb-ft (1,500 Nm) of torque, and whereas a lighter vehicle may have been tossed around by the jet blast, the Porsche remained rock solid. Indeed, it weighs in at a hefty 5,831 lbs (2,645 kg).

Photos Porsche

Porsche launched the electric Macan expecting it to take over from the combustion version outright, but strong demand for the latter kept both on sale, letting SUV customers choose between burning dinosaur juice and waiting in line at their local EV charging station. Now the ICE version has reached the end of the road, at least for the current generation.

Also: Porsche’s Macan Turbo Electric Lost Over $33,000 In Value After Just 1,500 Miles

During the announcement of their sales figures for the first half of this year, Porsche quietly slipped the exact date the ICE Macan will end production, with the last one leaving Leipzig at the end of July. The timing comes as a bit of a surprise given that the ICE version keeps outselling the EV, and once it’s gone, Porsche won’t have an equivalent gas-powered SUV to take its place.

A successor is already in the works, though buyers will have to wait a long time. Porsche admitted it misread the market and has approved a new combustion and hybrid Macan built on the Audi Q5 platform, but it isn’t due until 2028 at the earliest. That leaves at least two years where dealers must lean on remaining ICE stock, the Macan Electric, and whatever else fills the showroom. The replacement will wear a different name, so the Macan badge now belongs to the EV alone.

Read: Americans Still Want Gas Macans More Than The EV, So Porsche Is Stockpiling

In the first half of this year, Porsche sold a total of 35,315 Macan models worldwide. The majority of them, 19,695 units to be precise, were combustion models, whereas the Macan Electric accounted for the remaining 15,620 sales. Overall, Macan sales are down 22 percent compared to the same period last year, with Porsche citing a particularly strong 2025, the absence of electric and hybrid tax incentives in the US, and the “slower-than-expected ramp-up of electromobility.”

Porsche Struggles In 2026

The timing for axing the combustion Macan isn’t ideal for the company. Total Porsche deliveries have slipped 16 percent so far this year, down from 146,391 to 112,306. The decline in sales in China has been particularly dramatic, as they’ve fallen 32 percent from 21,302 to 14,501 units, while in North America, sales have slipped 13 percent to 37,712 units.

The Macan isn’t the only model off to a rough start. Cayenne sales have also slipped 9 percent to 38,141, even with deliveries of the all-electric version now underway. The Panamera is down 38 percent to 9,308 units, and the Taycan has fallen 25 percent through the first six months as well.

The only ray of sunshine for Porsche so far this year has been the 911. Sales of it have increased 19 percent this year, with an impressive 30,534 examples finding new homes.

Porsche Sales 2026