Porsche 718 Boxster (Source: Porsche)
Porsche was seen testing its upcoming 718 Boxster at the Nürburgring, the famous and grueling race track in Germany. It’s the first we’ve seen the vehicle uncamouflaged, and comes after Porsche’s new CEO quashed rumors of the model’s cancellation.
Porsche has been gradually electrifying its vehicle line, offering more and more powerful EVs. As of now, the most powerful Porsche ever is electric, and there’s more to come.
But so far, Porsche has been reticent to electrify its sportiest models. Despite coming out with the Taycan, a high-performance sport sedan, and extremely powerful electric versions of the Macan and Cayenne, the classic sportscars of the brand have remained fossil-powered.
That seemed like it was going to change when Porsche announced that the 718 Boxster soft-top convertible roadster/Cayman hard-top coupe would go out of production in 2025, and many assumed it would finally be replaced by an electric model.
But rumors flew about the upcoming 718 EV, with many thinking that the project was on the chopping block, alongside Porsche and other Western automakers’ pullback from EVs as they allowed China to step in and supply the rising global demand for superior electrified powertrain.
Thankfully, Porsche’s new CEO, Michael Leiters, saw reason. In August, he stated in an interview that “we will build the model – because it is the best solution economically and will be a fantastic car.” The 718 will also benefit from a platform-sharing agreement with Audi, which never faltered in its plans to bring its sister car, the TT, to the road.
So, we’re all past those silly rumors about the 718 EV’s cancellation. Good. So what’s to do now but to test the car?
And that’s what Porsche was spotted doing this week in Germany, at Porsche’s favorite test track, the Nürburgring.
It’s known to be one of the most grueling tracks on the planet, a 20km (12mi) romp through the Eifel mountains on a twisty, oft-roughly-surfaced road. And Porsche loves to test and set records there (and its upstart Chinese rivals love to trade those records with Porsche in its own backyard).
This time there was no record lap going on (at least, we don’t think there was, maybe we’ll hear something later), but the car was seen in uncharacteristically uncamouflaged form, showing basically everything on the vehicle and getting a good idea of what kind of visual updates will come with the new model. You can see the photos embedded below from CarSpy, or head on over to AutoExpress which has higher-resolution photos of their own.
The car certainly looks reminiscent of the outgoing model, but a few things stand out. The front air intakes look to have sharp louvers, which both add a more aggressive look, and speculatively may be able to articulate to increase aerodynamic performance when more cooling is not needed. The headlights are reminiscent of the Taycan’s and further recessed. The side skirts look more substantial. The side intakes look much smaller or perhaps nonexistent (are those stickers?), because there’s no hungry engine to feed back there.
And of course, there’s no exhaust on the rear – but there might be a charging door, which is strange placement given Porsche’s typical “one charging port on each side” design on its recent EVs.
Anything could change before production, especially small bodykit changes or various option availabilities (which Porsche is famous for). But this is still the best and most recent view we’ve seen of the upcoming vehicle, and it’s probably pretty close to production form, since it’s supposed to come out next year.
What do you think of the upcoming electric Porsche Boxster, now that we’ve seen the clearest view yet of the car?
If you’re interested in an electric Porsche but for some reason want something bigger and with worse handling than the upcoming Boxster, use our link to reach out to a local dealer about the Macan EV, which we reviewed here. Or wait for the Boxster! It’s coming soon™!
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