Heading for battle with the BMW X3, Mercedes GLK, Audi Q5 and Range Rover Evoque, the Porsche Macan is scheduled to arrive in showrooms shortly. The company's small crossover, joining its best-selling Cayenne, is expected to boost Porsche's worldwide sales, sending them over the 200,000 mark in 2014. Now, Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller is hinting that the German automaker will also offer a line-topping, high-performance Macan GTS.

Along with its bigger brother, the Macan is expected to turn Porsche into an SUV manufacturer that also happens to make sports cars. The two models are expected to make up 64 percent of company sales next year, with sports cars accounting for 24 percent and the remainder carried by the Panamera four-door coupe. However, a Macan GTS could bring some of Porsche's traditional sporting capabilities into the small SUV category. Until its introduction, the Macan line will be based on the Macan S and the 400-hp Macan Turbo, which should offer enough sporting and speed for most crossover shoppers.