Porsche has plenty of questions to answer surrounding the future of the 718 Boxster and Cayman. After the company retired the last generation, the entry-level sports cars were set to make a comeback in all-electric form. Then, Porsche walked back that commitment, leading to reports that it was going to revive the 718 as a continuation of the prior 982 series. But the electric 718 is still happening, and down the road, Porsche is reportedly planning to retrofit an internal combustion powertrain into the PPE architecture that was only ever intended to support EVs.
This insight into the automaker’s purported plans comes courtesy of Autocar, which reported “one of the most radical drivetrain reversals in Porsche’s history” on Sunday. The publication cites “senior sources” at Weissach, who told it that while the previous 718 will return, that is poised only to be a stopgap while the EVs join the range. After the 982-derived cars complete their victory lap, a mid-engine variant of the PPE-powered 718 will be introduced.
It doesn’t sound like an easy task. Porsche engineers will have to clear space for a four- or six-cylinder mill in a vehicle designed around a load-bearing battery pack, electric motors, and no transmission tunnel. Sure, the gas variant will be lighter, but it won’t be able to replicate the EV’s low center of gravity.
Autocar’s sources report that Porsche intends to correct these incompatibilities and deficits with a new structural floor, rear bulkhead, and rear subframe.
It at least seems that one aspect of reviving the gas 718 has gotten easier for Porsche: emissions. Recall that the automaker didn’t see much of a future for its tried-and-true, naturally aspirated, 4.0-liter flat-six with Euro 7 regulations and an ICE ban creeping into view. Now that those proposals have been watered down or scrapped entirely, that engine can live again.
Provided Porsche makes the necessary adjustments for the cybersecurity law that prematurely killed off the 982 series in its home market, there’s now a path back for these sports cars. Cool, but I’d wager the company would’ve preferred having a plan years ago and sticking with it. The ever-shifting nature of global auto regulations through the first half of this decade has made that an impossibility, though.