Ryan, please tell us where your love of cars came from - was it passed down by family or friends? 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a love for all things automotive. I think I owe it largely to Hot Wheels. By the time I was three, I was identifying cars by their tail lights at night. As I got older, I would spend tons of time reading car magazines and configuring my favourite models online. I always had a taste for the higher-end exotics, and that was cemented when I got to sit in my first supercar at around 8-years-old. My dad and I were driving to a park in my hometown of West Linn, Oregon, when I saw a red car with four round tail lights out of the corner of my eye. I yelled, “Dad, dad! I think that’s an Enzo!” We immediately turned around and, lo and behold, sitting in front of the local hardware store was a stunning Rosso Corsa Ferrari Enzo. We got out of the car to check it out and, while doing so, the owner walked out and offered to let me sit in it. I had never been so excited, and that feeling has further driven my passion for cars ever since.

What are some of your favourite cars you’ve owned or currently own? 

Prior to the Macan, I’d only ever owned Korean sedans. When I turned 16, I had a 2012 Hyundai Sonata Limited, which was the perfect first car. Then, right before college, I finessed an incredible deal on a loaded, blue over ivory 2016 Hyundai Genesis sedan. In 2019, I traded it in for my first properly fun car: a 2019 Genesis G70 3.3T Sport in the stunning shade of Mallorca Blue over black quilted leather. I really, truly adored that car. Sadly, my final six months of ownership were an absolute nightmare, and it ended up being bought back by Genesis. My Macan is objectively better in just about every way, but the G70 will always have a special place in my heart.

After owning so many Korean sedans, why did you choose a Macan and specifically the GTS?

Funnily enough, I was initially so opposed to an SUV. I had only ever owned sedans previously, and I liked being low to the ground, but the more I looked around at what was available within my budget, the more the Macan made sense. I wanted something fairly reliable that wouldn’t completely ruin my life with maintenance costs, had at least a little room for passengers, and, most importantly, was fun to drive. Plus, I’m a huge Porsche aficionado. The Macan ticks all those boxes easily; it’s pretty incredible what Porsche did with this car. Frankly, it’s barely an SUV, especially the GTS which sits slightly lower than other models. While it’s not as powerful as the Turbo, the GTS is easily the sportiest Macan variant, and I think it’s the best-looking, too. It also sounds absolutely fantastic, and you’d be shocked by how good it is to drive – this is a bonafide Porsche product.

Your Macan is certainly good-looking, and it doesn’t seem to be lacking on the options list. Could you tell us about the specification of your car? 

Somehow, the least expensive CPO Macan GTS in America just so happened to also be the most unique spec available. Finished in Mahogany Metallic with silver exterior accents and a Luxor Beige full leather interior with Walnut wood trim and the coveted 18-way adaptive sport seats, it was like the anti-GTS spec GTS – exactly what I was looking for in a sea of white-with-black-accent Macans. Whoever specced this car originally really knew what they were doing. It’s got nearly every option ticked – there’s not a single blank button on the centre console, which I take pride in – and even has a white Sport Chrono clock and gauges. I was hesitant about buying a brown car, but when it rolled off the truck upon delivery to me in LA and I saw the colour in the sun, I knew I had made the right call. Brown is back, baby! 

Is how we see it today exactly how it was delivered to you, or have you made any modifications? 

Within a week of delivery, I swapped the rear badging from the standard black to silver, matching the rest of the exterior trim. Then, I snagged a set of 21” Macan Sport Classic wheels, had them powder coated satin silver, and wrapped them in summer tires. At the same time, I had the callipers repainted from red with white script to black with silver script, as the red really clashed with the Mahogany paint. Next, the black GTS script on the doors was swapped to silver. Finally, to cap it all off, I had the standard black rear spoiler painted body colour for a more planted look. In its completed form, I genuinely think this is the best looking Macan in the country; it’s a perfect combination of elegance and sportiness, and it stands out from the crowd just enough to be special.

Despite how unusual the spec is, you haven’t been shy about using your Macan - you’ve even been off-roading with photos to prove it. How did it perform?

Ha! Well, let’s call it soft-roading, but yes – and it was totally fine! The Macan actually has an Off Road mode that raises the suspension a surprisingly large amount, so you can traverse small rocks if needed, and optimises traction for loose surfaces. I obviously wouldn’t recommend any serious off-roading, but for some light dirt roads, you can definitely have some fun.

The original Macan has such a great design - do you feel it has the potential to be a future classic? 

I totally agree – I’ve always found the original design superior to the refreshed models with the rear light bar. The rear is just perfectly sculpted, and I love the way the taillights are cut into the sheet metal. Also, clamshell hood? Yes, please.

Is it a future classic? While I think the Macan’s design has aged extremely well and will continue to do so, especially in the right spec, I’m not sure any regular production SUV will ever truly be considered a classic – even one as un-SUV-like as the Macan GTS. I definitely think people will appreciate them, but they’ll never have the same kind of cult following as something like a 911. And that’s okay!

You can pick any car and any destination for a road trip. Which car are you taking and where are you going?

My thoughts on this change on the daily; I have so many answers that it’s nearly impossible to choose just one. Practically speaking, I’d need something relatively comfortable with decent luggage space (I’m not exactly a light packer) and a good sound system that’s also fun to drive and has a killer exhaust note. At the moment, the car that checks all those boxes is the Ferrari 812 GTS. I recently spent a day driving around the Malibu canyons in a friend’s, and wow, it is an incredible machine. Destination? Well, I think it’s gotta be the Amalfi Coast; I’d love to drive all the way up to Lake Como or the Dolomites from there, too.

That does indeed sound like a perfect pairing! Do you have any future plans for your Macan? 

In terms of further upgrades, not at the moment – though I would love to have the side blades painted body color at some point. For now, I’ll continue to use the Macan as my daily and road trip companion, with the occasional canyon carving session thrown in for good measure. I’d love to take it on a big National Parks road trip in the near future!


Lastly, what’s your ultimate driving song for those blasts through the canyons? 

Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf. Listen to it next time you’re on a spirited drive; you’ll get it.

Photos by Ryan Greger @rmg.autos