Electric Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster confirmed for launch around 2025
It’s official: the next Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman will go electric, with styling drawn from the Mission R race car concept – and first showroom arrivals due around 2025.
After multiple years of speculation, Porsche has confirmed the next generation of its Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman sports cars will switch to electric power by the middle of this decade.
Following reporting by Drive last month, Porsche has confirmed its “aim to electrify” the 718 Boxster convertible and Cayman coupe model line “in the middle of the decade”, become the German brand’s third model without a petrol or diesel engine (following the Taycan sedan and next Macan SUV).
Codenamed 983, the new 718 will draw styling inspiration from the Mission R electric race car concept revealed last year, with broad haunches, a compact footprint and, crucially, mid-engined proportions similar to the current Cayman and Boxster families.
Porsche is yet to confirm launch timing beyond “mid-decade”. Production of the current 718 is due to end no earlier than mid-2024 – though it’s unclear if the electric and petrol cars will be sold alongside one another, per the inbound electric and current petrol Macan SUVs.
No technical details have been confirmed, however overseas rumours suggest the new 718 sports cars will become the first Cayman and Boxster with all-wheel drive, thanks to dual electric motors and performance expected to approach that of a larger, petrol-powered 911.
Rear-wheel drive is also expected to be offered, which US publication Car and Driver says will allow for a driving range in excess of 400km, and a kerb weight of approximately 1655kg (or 250kg more than a current Boxster GTS 4.0).
While the Mission R’s styling will inspire the next 718 Cayman and Boxster, the concept’s 800kW peak output is unlikely to reach production, capable of a circa-2.5-second 0-100km/h sprint time.
For more details on everything we know so far about the next Porsche 718 twins, click here to read Drive’s story last month.
Like the current model, the new electric 718 will employ a parts sharing system allowing it to be built alongside the petrol-powered 911 sports car in Porsche’s Zuffenhausen factory.
With the electric 718 in showrooms alongside the Taycan and next year’s electric Macan successor, Porsche aims to have all-electric vehicles account for more than 80 per cent of the company’s global sales in 2030.
In the meantime, hybrid versions of the Panamera and Cayenne large cars will contribute to 50 per cent of sales accounted for by hybrid or electric cars in 2025.
The iconic 911 sports car will resist a switch to electric power for the time being, with Porsche to instead favour a hybrid system similar to its 919 Hybrid and upcoming LMDh endurance racing cars – eschewing a plug for recharging.
By opting for a smaller battery pack not designed for long all-electric driving distances, and a less potent electric motor, Porsche can cut emissions and fuel economy while saving weight – the lattermost a key criticism of hybrid or electric sports cars.
Porsche will also continue to invest in synthetic fuels, which the company says “have the potential to power cars with an internal combustion engine in an almost carbon-neutral manner” – click here for more details.
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