Porsche Confirms Gas 718 Boxster And Cayman Are Dead
Porsche just put a stake through the heart of one of the last hopes gearheads had left: a flat-six 718. Matthias Rauter, Porsche’s Head of Corporate Communications, confirmed to Motor1 on October 7 that the next-generation Boxster and Cayman will be electric-only. No gas comeback, no surprise flat-six revival, no asterisk. Porsche’s new Sportwagenschmiede ’35 strategy, unveiled the same day at the company’s Capital Markets Day, locks both cars into a battery-electric future with full production starting in 2028.
Porsche is leaning on a technicality here. Rauter says a combustion 718 was never actually greenlit by the board, so technically nothing’s being canceled. That’s cold comfort for anyone who’s been tracking this story since 2022, when Porsche first confirmed the electric 718 and then, a year ago, dangled the possibility of a mid-cycle gas option on an investor call. Former CEO Oliver Blume even put it on a presentation slide. Now it’s gone, and the Boxster and Cayman’s two-generation run as Porsche’s cheapest way into a flat-six is officially over.
The Flat-Six Was The Whole Point
For two generations, the 718 has been the entry point into the Porsche ownership experience, and the flat-six was the reason to care. It’s a naturally aspirated (or turbocharged, depending on trim) boxer engine mounted mid-ship, delivering the kind of throttle response and balance that made the Cayman arguably more fun to drive than a 911 in the right spec. Swapping that for a battery pack is as big a philosophical shift as Porsche has ever made to a core model.
Porsche insists the character won’t disappear entirely. The electric 718 uses what the company calls E-Core architecture, mounting the battery directly behind the seats, in the same spot the engine used to live, rather than under the floor like most EVs. Porsche says this keeps weight distribution close to the old car’s 59.8/40.2 split, landing the EV at roughly 55.2 percent rear-biased. It’s an engineering choice clearly built to answer the exact complaint enthusiasts are about to make.
What Car And Driver Felt In The Prototype
Car and Driver got a ride-along in a camouflaged 718 Boxster EV prototype at Porsche’s Weissach test track, and the early read is more encouraging than the spec sheet alone suggests. The seating position reportedly feels shockingly close to the outgoing gas Boxster, low and mid-engined in character despite the battery swap. Their driver described the car rotating eagerly into corners without needing correction, staying flat despite what will likely be a heavier curb weight than the car it replaces.
The electric 718 will also get Porsche’s E-Shift mode, first seen on the Taycan, which simulates gear changes and engine noise through paddle shifters. Porsche hasn’t released power, range, or pricing figures yet, and the car rides on an 800-volt architecture for fast charging. It’s still a long way from flat-six six-figure redlines, but it’s clearly an attempt to keep the 718 feeling like a 718, not just a Taycan with a shorter wheelbase.
Porsche Isn’t Going All-Electric, Just This Time
Here’s the part that should keep purists from fully writing off Zuffenhausen: the 911 isn’t going anywhere near this fate. Porsche’s new CEO, Michael Leiters, said flatly that the 911 will never be fully electric, and the brand’s three-pronged powertrain strategy keeps combustion and plug-in hybrid development alive alongside EVs. A new gas and PHEV Macan replacement is coming in 2028, and Porsche is set to reveal a Mission S hypercar concept on October 15, reportedly previewing a twin-turbo flat-eight halo car positioned above the 911.
So this isn’t Porsche abandoning gas engines wholesale. It’s Porsche deciding the entry-level sports car is where the line gets drawn, and that stings in a different way. The 718 was supposed to be the accessible flat-six, the one more enthusiasts could actually afford to own. Losing that while the 911 and a new hypercar keep their combustion credentials makes clear where Porsche thinks the money, and the emotional cachet, now belongs.
The 718 faithful can hold onto a used GT4 RS or a late-production Spyder RS while they still can, because the flat-six version of this car isn’t coming back in any form. What happens next depends entirely on whether Porsche’s E-Core trick actually delivers the mid-engined feel enthusiasts are mourning, or whether this just becomes another well-built EV wearing a legendary badge.
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