There’s no turning back now – Boxsters and Caymans with combustion engines won’t be around anymore from around the middle of this decade. Porsche has announced that it will discontinue the petrol-powered model and replace the 718 dynamic duo with a pure electric sports car. We got our first taste of the EV in September 2021 with the Mission R concept, but it was only a few days ago that the prototype was spotted being tested.
New speculative renderings of our friends at College try to digitally release camouflage and give us ideas (though very informal) about how Porsche will transform its entry-level sports car. As shown in the image provided by the car’s paparazzi, a peek from Zuffenhausen will maintain the mid-engine proportions of the current Boxster and Cayman even after removing the four and six-cylinder engines.
Some of the design cues we saw on the 2021 Mission R will be applied to the revamped 718 model, including the narrow, rectangular headlamp design. The prototype appears to have a very large air intake at the front and may hide an LED light bar at the rear to echo the concept car.
Logic tells us it won’t look as loud as the Mission R since it was conceived as a track-only machine, but we can already imagine an electric Cayman GT-badged or a Boxster Spyder with a dramatic aerodynamic package. Keep in mind that Porsche cleverly disguised the prototype, so there are a lot of design details that are being kept under wraps for now.
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While some of the modules will be shared with other vehicles, the platform will be developed specifically for this application. We’ll remind you that the Mission R is technically based on the current Cayman, but the next production model will be a brand new car. The concept is touted to have a little over 1,000 horsepower from a very powerful dual motor setup that delivers a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in just two and a half seconds.
That said, it seems unlikely that the road cars coming in 2025 will pack such a huge electric punch. Also, the Boxster/Cayman EV 2025 is unlikely to reach the 186 mph (300 km/h) advertised for the Mission R. The concept has a relatively low weight of 1,500 kilograms (3,306 pounds) or only around 85 kg (187 pounds). lbs) more than the Cayman GT4 RS, so let’s hope Porsche engineers will minimize the bulk of the battery.
Before the electric sports car, Porsche would introduce the next-generation Macan strictly as an EV by 2024. The electric 718 will be followed in the second half of the decade by a larger zero-emissions SUV. A 911 hybrid is also planned for years to come, but a pure electric derivative won’t happen before 2030.
