Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman to go electric by 2025

UPDATE, March 21, 2022: It’s confirmed: the 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster convertible and Cayman coupe will move exclusively to electric powertrains.

While leaked dealership information back in November pointed to battery-powered Boxster and Cayman models – the most recent rumour after years of speculation – Porsche has announced its plans to drop petrol engines from the 718 range by the middle of the decade.

The move is part of its ambition to switch 80 per cent of its new-car line-up to electric by 2030, with assurances from company chairman Oliver Blume this new generation of cars will retain their Porsche DNA.

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The all-electric Taycan currently out-sells the 911, Boxster and Cayman

"The Taycan is 100 per cent a Porsche and inspires all kinds of people – existing and new customers, experts and the trade media,” Blume said at the carmaker's annual conference.

“We are stepping up our electric offensive with another model: by the middle of the decade, we want to offer our mid-engine 718 sports car exclusively in an all-electric form."

By 2025, Blume says half of its sales are expected to be derived from either fully-electric or plug-in hybrid models.

While hybrid models are in the pipeline, it’s expected Porsche will keep a number of 911 variants as petrol-only, with the brand investing heavily in the development of synthetic fuels.

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The story to here

November 24, 2021: The 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman will move to all-electric powertrains.

Porsche revealed the move at a confidential dealer briefing in the US, where designs of the next-generation Boxster and Cayman were also shared, Automotive News reports.

Insiders described the look of the new 718 models as being similar to the current electric Taycan at the front and rear – likely borrowing styling cues from Mission R concept study shown in September, and imagined in these renderings from AutoEvolution.

In March, UK publication AutoExpress quoted Porsche CEO Oliver Blume as saying the final decision on whether the next-generation was a few months away – but it appears now as if the company is forging ahead with the battery-powered sports cars.

The leaked information from the dealer conference all but confirms a report from US magazine Car and Driver in September, which quoted sources from both within and outside Porsche saying the 718 models would move to pure-electric power by the middle of this decade.

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Speaking to Porsche collectors Jerry Seinfeld and Spike Feresten in recent weeks, Porsche GT boss Andy Preuninger gave a glimpse into how the carmaker is approaching electric vehicles.

“I think we have shown with the Taycan we can do a performance – a very entertaining car as an electric,” Preuninger said on the Spike’s Car Radio podcast.

“For sure you lose one of the senses [in electric cars], definitely – the action from the engine. This doesn’t make it easier. It means all the [other senses] must be better.

"The cars must be appealing, they must touch you, the driving experience must be very, very unique. That’s the challenge for the future.”

Preuninger said the company was taking a split approach to sustainable motoring, offering electric vehicles on the one hand, but also investing in the development of synthetic fuels to help reduce the emissions from the vast majority of internal-combustion vehicles that will remain on the road in the coming decades.

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The September article from Car and Driver also suggested the Porsche 911 will be powered by petrol beyond 2030.

As with other Volkswagen Group brands, Porsche did not sign up to the recent Glasgow Declaration which promises to ban the sale of new internal-combustion vehicles by next decade. An environmental official from Germany instead sought clarification as to whether synthetic fuels created from renewable engine could be excluded from the pact.

It’s expected the all-electric 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman will be unveiled in 2024.