The fate of Porsche‘s only mid-engine models, the 718 Cayman and Boxster, seems to be hanging in the balance as the automaker’s top brass are said to have met yesterday to decide if the next-gen 718 sports cars, which are supposed to be EV-only, are still going to see the light of day.
Two unnamed sources reportedly told The Drive that Porsche’s top execs met in Europe on Thursday to decide the fate of the electric sports cars amid an unfavorable EV climate due to a combination of factors including dwindling EV sales, the scrapping of America’s EV federal tax credit and the rollback of U.S. emissions regulations that favored EVs, among other things.
Related: Porsche May Kill Electric Boxster and Cayman Before They Become a Costly Mistake
New CEO Faced With 718 EV Development Delays And Expenses
Porsche
The news comes after recent reports that Porsche might kill off the electric sports cars due to what has been referred to as “development hell.” Earlier this month, Porsche sources told Bloomberg that “development delays and expenses” were hamstringing the project, and the company’s new CEO, Michael Leiters, who started on January 1, was forced to take those into account.
One of the main problems is the fact that Porsche targeted a sub-4,000-lb curb weight for the all-electric 718 Cayman and Boxster, which is understood to be a real engineering challenge for a production-spec electric sports car carrying a heavy battery pack.
But things are potentially more serious than that, as Porsche is rumored to be well behind schedule with the vehicle, with previous reports claiming that the automaker had to pause development due to battery maker Northvolt’s bankruptcy.
A major sign that Porsche is having second thoughts about the project was the automaker’s September 2025 announcement that the next-generation 718 models would continue to offer internal combustion engine power. At the time, Porsche said the gas-powered 718 Cayman and Boxster would sit at the top of the range, implying that they would be positioned above the all-electric versions. Porsche ended production of the current 718 models in October 2025.
EV-Only Platform Reportedly A Nightmare To Adapt For ICE
Then came an Autocar report from December 2025 that claimed Porsche engineers were having a really hard time adapting the PPE Sport EV platform (developed specifically for the all-electric 718 models) for internal combustion engines.
Apparently, the amount of work needed to reverse-engineer the EV-only platform to receive a mid-mounted gas engine is titanic, especially since the PPE Sport EV platform has no provisions for a gas engine, transmission, fuel tank, and many other components specific to ICE vehicles.
And that’s just the start of it, as removing the load-bearing battery pack from the platform would significantly affect the structural rigidity of of the entire body shell. Fixing that, plus accommodating the engine and transmission, would require major alterations to the floor, rear bulkhead and rear subframe.
With that in mind, it’s probably not a big stretch to think that Porsche might decide the 718 is not worth the effort and cancel it altogether–be it EV or ICE. We certainly hope that’s not the case, as that would probably be one of Porsche’s costliest decisions ever. So far nothing has transpired from the company’s top-level meeting, but we’ll keep an eye out on this.
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