Hey Look, The Porsche 718 Boxster And Cayman Are Going Electric Too

No surprises there, but that does set a ticking clock for the current mid-engined sports cars

Porsche’s ‘Mission R’ aims to deliver an all-electric motorsports vehicle — but it could also lay the grounds for the next road-going version of the 718 Boxster and Cayman sports cars. (Images: Porsche)

What? Another gas-powered sports car is going electric, you say?

I’ll admit, I do feel like a broken record when I mention “last call” for gas-powered cars before we collectively turn the page to an all-electric future. But here I am doing it again, this time with the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman. Of course, the rumor mill has been atwitter with messages of the cars’ EV transformation, and the automaker just confirmed it this week.

“By the middle of the decade, we want to offer our mid-engine 718 sports car exclusively in all-electric form,” said Porsche head Oliver Blume. That’s pretty clear-cut — though it’s a statistical certainty anyway, since virtually every automaker is shifting over to an electric lineup in the coming years. At least this confirms there will be a next-gen version of Porsche’s sub-911 sports cars.

In fact, 2021’s Porsche Mission R (shown here) may well have previewed what the next generation will look like. This concept is meant as a case study for motorsport, but Porsche could build a road car from its bones with toned-down styling. And a more practical interior, naturally. Like Boxsters and Caymans of old, the electric variants should launch in rear- and all-wheel drive configurations.

Exactly what sort of performance we’re talking about — or exactly when we’ll see an all-electric 718 — is still up in the air. The 2025 “Euro 7” emissions standards are more or less designed to accelerate the phase-out of gas and diesel cars, so it’s likely we’ll see it emerge before then. On that subject, we’ll also see an all-electric Macan crossover by then.

So, if you want an “old-school” 718 Cayman or Boxster, snap one up now before it, too, rolls off into the sunset.