Late last year, Porsche wound down production of the 718 Boxster and Cayman in preparation for what was originally intended to be an electric-only successor. Then it became clear that Porsche would add a combustion model to adapt to consumer preferences and an ever-changing regulatory climate. Now, we have to entertain the possibility that the 718 EV never happens at all, as a new Bloomberg report says that Porsche may cancel the battery-powered version of the upcoming sports car.
New CEO Michael Leiters, who stepped into the role on January 1 in place of former Porsche boss Oliver Blume, is said to be considering scrapping the electric 718 Boxster and Cayman due to “development delays and rising expenses,” per Bloomberg, citing anonymous internal sources. A Porsche spokesperson declined to comment on the matter to The Drive.
The future of the 718 line has been a nagging bugbear for Porsche. The sports car maker announced roughly two years ago that it’d have to discontinue the latest generation of the vehicles, which entered production way back in 2016, due to a new cybersecurity law in Europe. At the time, this was disappointing, but definitely the right move; Porsche was preparing a battery-only sequel set to drop in a few years, and reengineering the electric architecture of a decade-old vehicle just to stick around until then didn’t make business sense.
But then the reality of current EV demand set in, coupled with a growing movement to reverse the European Union’s planned ban on gas cars in 2035 and a particularly worrying fiscal year for the company. So, Porsche decided to course-correct and redevelop the next 718 to support both internal-combustion and electric powertrains.
We can’t say exactly how long that plan lasted, because we’re not a fly on the wall in Porsche’s boardroom, but it seems like a length of time that could best be counted in months. Now, Leiters may well ditch the electric version of the 718 altogether—a vehicle that was initially designed to only ever be electric in the first place—as a consequence of tightening purse strings.
Poor sales in China and a pivot back to internal combustion elsewhere in the lineup, like with the company’s SUVs, have led to massive losses, which have in turn given Porsche less money to make the electric 718 happen. It’s been a vicious cycle. And it’s not like trying to reshape the new 718 around a metal lump that wasn’t originally supposed to be there was an easy job to begin with.
Of course, this decision is still merely under consideration according to the report—the 718 EV isn’t dead yet. But, given all the roadblocks to date, it’s surreal to even think about driving the final, next-gen Boxster or Cayman one day, in whatever form it takes. And, if it’s good despite all of the shifts, redesigns, pivots, and every iteration of what this vehicle was supposed to be over the course of its development but ultimately wasn’t, it’ll be a small miracle.
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