Future of electric Cayman and Boxster unclear as Porsche reportedly reconsiders decision

Porsche might be pulling the plug on its all-electric Cayman and Boxster models, which would represent a u-turn on the controversial sports cars.

According to a report first published by Bloomberg, Porsche’s new CEO Michael Leiters is considering scrapping the project due to “development delays and rising expenses.”

Before the current 718 Boxster and Cayman models were pulled from sale, Porsche announced the next-generation entry-level sports car will be exclusively electric. 

Instead of attempting to re-engineer the petrol-powered architecture to hold batteries, it seemed like a better idea just to start from the ground up with a blank canvas. 

It was then announced a combustion-powered variant would be sold alongside the electric versions, to adapt to changing consumer preferences and emission regulations. 

When this reality set in, it became clear that Porsche would have to engineer petrol power into a chassis built around batteries. 

It’s unclear as to how long Porsche went with this plan, but it seems that it has since been thrown in the too-hard basket. 

Now the German manufacturer finds itself in another sticky situation where it’s seemingly using a chassis initially built for electric power as a base for an exclusively combustion-powered car. 

It’s rumoured poor sales in China and the pivot back towards petrol power has led to unexpected losses across the company, meaning less budget exists to produce the electric 718. 

Despite all this, it’s not off the table completely, as this is just a rumour. And Porsche seems like a brand that struggles to admit defeat. 

The bottom line is we’ll still get a new combustion-powered 718 at some point, which is a win for enthusiasts everywhere, and may or may not get its electric counterpart.