Sports car icon confirmed for controversial comeback
The electric version of the Porsche 718 – better known as the Cayman coupe and Boxster convertible – will go ahead, according to the brand’s CEO.
Speculation over the future of the Porsche 718 lineup has been partly shored up, with CEO Michael Leiters confirming the Cayman and Boxster will become EVs.
It’s been a long road to get to that announcement, and is by no means the end of the story for the future of the 718, which has long been the subject of speculation since production of the existing Cayman and Boxster ended in late 2025.
Speaking to German outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Leiters – who took over the top job at the start of the year, coming from McLaren – said the electric 718 is going ahead, despite reports from six months ago saying he’d axe the engine-less sports cars.
“I always look at every project first and foremost from a Porsche perspective: Does it make economic sense or not?” he said.
“Only then do potential synergies within the [Volkswagen] group come into play. With the electric 718, we came to the conclusion that we will build the model – because it is the best solution economically and will be a fantastic car.”
Porsche’s most recent 982-generation 718 sports cars exited production last year, and were set to be replaced by electric versions of the Cayman and Boxster, both running on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) Sport architecture.
However, low demand for EVs in the luxury performance segment led to a backtrack, with Porsche announcing in 2025 the upcoming 718 lineup would be expanded to offer “top ICE (internal combustion engine) derivatives”, suggesting the flagship RS versions of each would be the only versions to get a petrol engine.
It was reported in December by Autocar that senior sources had said Porsche would reverse-engineer the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) Sport architecture the EV 718 will be based on to accept a petrol engine.
According to Autocar’s sources, this would have extended beyond the aforementioned range-topping petrol-powered 718s, with engines expected to be more widely available across the lineup.
This was further advanced in February this year by a Bloomberg report - citing insider sources within Porsche - claiming Leiters was considering scrapping the 718 Cayman and Boxster EVs, due to continued delays and rising costs.
According to the Bloomberg report, Porsche had deliberated making the new 718 a plug-in hybrid, however this too would require different underpinnings which would increase development costs and blow out its timeline.
However, the plans for petrol Porsche 718s started to unravel last month, when German newspaper Bild reported the Volkswagen Group was deliberating the discontinuation of more than half a dozen models: which included the internal combustion engine-powered 718.
Jordan Mulach
Though Leiters made no mention of this report in his latest interview, it brings the future of the 718 into clearer focus.
His comments also reaffirm Audi’s plan to build its new production version of the Concept C – the spiritual successor to the TT – on the PPE architecture, something which it said it would do even if the 718 EV didn’t go ahead.
A report by Donaukurier in February claimed an internal memo had been sent from Audi CEO Gernot Döllner to the Audi’s employees, saying the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) which is still set to underpin the 718 EVs will remain available to Audi.
