Porsche is reportedly reworking the next-generation 718 Boxster and Cayman platform so it can carry gasoline engines as well as electric power, rowing back from the original plan to make the next 718 family EV-only.
Instead of using a dedicated electric architecture just once, Stuttgart is said to be engineering a flexible “EV-first” structure that can support both battery-electric and combustion powertrains across the range, not just in a limited halo model.
From EV-only to EV and Gas Side by Side
The original brief for the next 718 line was straightforward: retire today’s gas-powered Boxster and Cayman and replace them with battery-electric successors on a new, low-slung sports-car version of Porsche’s EV hardware. That would have left the 911 as the last combustion-powered Porsche sports car, while the 718 moved fully into electric territory. According to new reports, slowing EV demand, tougher market conditions and strong customer appetite for ICE sports cars have pushed Porsche into a strategic rethink.
Rather than offering just a final run-out of combustion specials, the idea now is to keep gas engines available throughout the next 718 range, sold alongside full EVs on the same basic platform. It mirrors what Porsche is already doing at the top of its line-up, where the 911 continues to anchor the brand’s combustion identity with special editions.
The Engineering Headache of Putting Engines Back In
Turning a clean-sheet EV platform into something that can also carry an engine is not a small job. The 718’s next architecture was designed around a structural battery pack, with no provision for a fuel tank, exhaust system or a conventional transmission tunnel. Reintroducing an engine means Porsche’s engineers now have to create a new floor structure that remains stiff without relying on the battery, find space for a mid-mounted powerplant and gearbox, and package a tank and exhaust within crash and noise regulations.
That work extends into the rear subframe, bulkhead and suspension pick-up points, because weight distribution, cooling and impact performance all change once you drop a flat-four or flat-six behind the seats instead of a big slab of cells. It is effectively a second development cycle on a platform that was already well advanced, but Porsche appears to have decided that the cost is worth it if it keeps core 718 buyers on-side.
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How it Fits Porsche’s Wider Performance Strategy
Porsche is not backing away from electrification; it is adding a gas branch to an EV-first program. The updated Taycan arriving later in the decade will debut a “virtual transmission” that simulates gearshifts through software and torque control. That shows how seriously the company is taking the job of giving electric cars some of the rhythm and involvement usually provided by a manual or dual-clutch box.
At the same time, enthusiast builds and classic-focused projects underline how much appetite there still is for mechanical, high-revving Porsches. Bringing petrol engines back into the next 718 platform gives Porsche room to serve those customers directly, while EV versions of the same car carry the technology story forward.
If the reported plan sticks, the next Boxster and Cayman generation will become a test case for whether a single sports-car architecture can keep both sides happy: drivers who want silent, instant electric shove and those who still want a mid-engined Porsche that smells of fuel and revs to the red line.
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