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Electric Porsche Boxster: new pictures of near-production sports EV

New electric Porsche Boxster spied Latest on next 718 Cayman/Boxster EVs Sports cars confirmed for 2025

Stuttgart is preparing to bolster its electric car range with an all-electric replacement for the Porsche 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman twins and the camouflage is gradually dropping from the prototypes spied on wintry cold-weather testing in Scandinavia.

Porsches junior sports car has been snapped by our spy photographers inside and out. The latest batch of photos reveal fresh details like the production headlamps, which follow the multi-LED graphic seen on other new Porsche electric cars such as the recently unveiled new Taycan and Macan.

The 718 is the next electric model on Porsches launchpad.

Note how the fake exhaust pipes have been removed from the latest test cars, while slimline horizontal lights run across the rump.

Zuffenhausen is planning a pair of sports cars, electrified to take the entry-level Porsche bloodline into the EV age. The styling is remarkably evolutionary you wont mistake this test hack for anything other than a Boxster but the major changes lie beneath the skin.

Both the Boxster and Cayman will be based around a new electric car architecture dubbed SSP Sport. It allows for rear- or all-wheel drive sports cars and is designed to keep the heft as low as possible, in a bid to counter the natural weight gain associated with plugging in.

An extreme diet is one of the key reasons why Porsche has ploughed ahead with electric versions of its bigger saloons and SUVs first; its waiting for battery tech and weight to improve before committing to its first electric sports car.

Electric Porsche Boxster: same-again looks, radical revolution under the skin

In a long game of cat and mouse, our spies have been scooping the electric Porsche sports cars for years and weve updated this page to show the latest and earliest prototypes so you can chart the programmes progress. Earlier prototypes (below) carried more disguise, and even dummy exhaust tips, in a bid to put photographers off the scent. Note the simple folding soft-top is retained.

The rear of the new Boxster EV looks to continue Stuttgarts move towards full-width LED lights at the rear. Its a tight package with space for just two seats, leaving the Porsche 911 as the marques classic 2+2 sports model. Hierarchy is all in the Teutonic logic of the Porsche brand ladder.

The battery-powered newcomers will be built at Zuffenhausen and Porsche is spending around 200 million to update the factory in preparation for its electric switchover; the company expects to offer legacy combustion models alongside the EVs during a transition period.

Range, battery size and charging specs

Its too early to call the exact EV specs expected from the Porsche 718 replacement, but we know it will package the batteries in a mid-mounted position, not dissimilar to the classical mid-engined sports car format. Why? Because cells cannot be arranged in a skateboard position along the floor, as it would prevent the driver from sitting low to the ground in time-honoured fashion.

The electric 718 twins will use a centrally mounted flap above the rear registration mount to house its Type 2 charging plug, making it easier to use chargers on the left or right-hand side.

A high-speed DC charger port is also visible in our sandy spyshot above. It is not yet known what charging rate the electric Porsche sports cars will offer, but we expect this EV to stick with a smaller capacity to keep a lid on weight so rapid charging will be a must.

Spy photos inside the electric roadster

Our man with the long lens has already stolen a good look inside the 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster EV and its a significant upgrade on what went before.

Its significantly more digital than the current car, with large, all-electronic screens and read-outs. Although unfinished, its clear to see the new Boxster will use a sophisticated dual-screen set-up like the Taycan.

The battery stats are just about visible, with the prototype model 50% charged with a range of 125km (78 miles) left.

Of course, there are lots of variables at this stage of development and especially in testing sub-zero Arctic conditions, so wed put that range at the worst-case scenario end of the scale. Expect a claimed range nearer 300 miles in production on the official WLTP cycle.

Porsche engineers are busy putting its 2025 sports car through its paces in harsh winter conditions, as they grapple with low temperatures affecting battery performance, durability in cold climes and handling prowess in all weathers.

Its just part of an extensive test programme, which has seen the next Boxster put through its paces across the globe. Our spies have already captured the sports car on test at the Nurburgring in Germany, where prototypes have been spotted with wheels in the air.

CEO Oliver Blume announced that the electric sports cars will be revealed by the middle of the decade at the brands 2023 annual press conference. He also confirmed that the electric 718 Boxster and Cayman twins will run in parallel to petrol versions.

We havent yet seen a tin-top Cayman, suggesting that Porsche will launch the roadster first exactly mirroring the staggered launch cadence of the original coupe two decades ago.

New 2025 electric Porsche Boxster and Cayman: what to expect

Strip away the camouflage and the direction of travel is clear to see.

Our artists have already depicted what the fixed-head electric Cayman could look like (see earlier rendering, below), based on the new EV architecture, which is likely to offer a mix of rear- or all-wheel drive depending on whether buyers choose a single or dual-motor option.

CARs sources suggest that twin-motor electric Boxsters will boast up to 400bhp, although Porsche will be keen to keep some clear water between its junior sports cars and its evergreen 911.

The company has already shown the Porsche Mission R concept car to showcase what a compact electric sports car could look like, albeit it in track form. Explaining the mid-engined look, it packaged the batteries behind the two seats ahead of the rear axle in what Porsche calls E-Core to allow for a low-slung seating position rather than a tip-toe stance common on many EVs.

Electric Porsche sports cars: the origins

Weve been following this story for years and its been a long gestation. Back in the early throes of Covid lockdown, CAR magazine spoke to the R&D bosses about the project. Dr Michael Steiner said in March 2020: We are running several electrified Boxsters to gain expertise and knowledge to see how an electric car performs as a two-door.

The acoustic sound doesnt really play that huge a role with a GT like the Taycan and adding weight is okay, he added. But the additional weight for a sports car, we are not satisfied with today. This is one of the reasons why our next electric car will be a small SUV not a two-door sports car.

Thats the new 2024 Porsche Macan, the second EV to hail from Porsche.

Porsche Taycan electric car review

Steiner (above) said that improved battery technology was needed before an electric Porsche sports car would be ready for production. If there was a breakthrough in battery technology, something like solid-state batteries this direction would trigger a two-door sports car fully electrified. But I do not see in the first half of this decade a good chance of a breakthrough in battery technology, he told us during the Covid lockdowns.

We will see step-by-step incremental benefit with lithium-ion batteries. We predict a 2-3% improvement year-by-year in lithium-ion battery improvement. I am still not happy with the weight, though.

The companys battery progress has improved considerably since then, however meaning that the battery sports cars will be shown next year.

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What will happen to todays Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman?

The current, mostly four-cylinder, 718 twins will have to soldier on until mid-decade in their current forms. Expect special editions and tweaks to keep the Boxster and Cayman selling until the advent of their electric successors.

Porsche and Rimac: how future sports cars will be developed

Porsches investment in Rimac is a big deal for its future electrified cars and one of the reasons that the battery tech and motor know-how has advanced to pave the way for an electric Boxster and Cayman to launch.

While the start-up has had little to do with the Taycan, the first project to come from Stuttgarts Croatian venture will be the electric Macan, then further development with the smaller sports car project.

Will the 911 also go electric?

Porsche execs understand that the time may come for a fully-electric 911, but they dont want to go messing with a 60-year old icon just yet. Expect hybridisation options first, as the job of pioneering a fully electric Porsche sports car will fall to the 718 successor.

Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of Porsche AG, said: In the sports car segment we have to think about the pure electric car. With the 911 it will be a bit difficult, but for the 718 I think it could be a very good step for the future, on a completely new platform we can then discuss to share with other brands.

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Porsche 718 Boxster electric sports car debuting ahead of next Cayman

The first-ever fully electric Porsche sports car model will be the 718 Boxster, and it could debut in less than 12 months time.

The new-generation 983 electric versions of the 718 Boxster convertible and 718 Cayman coupe will be jointly developed on an identical new-generation EV platform, but its expected Porsche will unbox the Boxster first.

For the unaware, the Boxster was around well before the Cayman. In fact, the first-generation 986 drop-top sports convertible was around for a full eight years without a hardtop compatriot, and the second-gen 987 Boxster launched in 2005, ahead of the Cayman coupe of that generation.

At the Australian debut of the Porsche GT4 e-Performance electric race car prototype, project manager Bjrn Frster said he imagines the Stuttgart marque would see fit to launch Boxster first as an innovation leader.

Since the bigger innovation is to have an open electric sports car, if it was my company, I would go for the open verison first, he said.

We started way earlier [on the GT4 e-Performance], and weve already been touring the market for almost 18 months, and the electric Boxster is coming soon.

Mr Frster wouldnt go into any specifics on the model lineup, powertrain details or more info on what to expect, but he did suggest that there will be a typical flow-through range launch, kicking off with a more attainable base version, before the more advanced and performance-focused variants come.

At the moment, we will surely not build up a race car on the base model. The base model will be introduced first, he said.

So it will need some time for a more performance-oriented version of the 983 [aka new-gen 718 models] will come, and then we will be on the same timeline as the Cayman, maybe.

Specifics around battery design and capacity are yet to be determined, but in the GT4 e-Performance racer theres an 80kWh battery pack, dual electric motors (meaning all-wheel drive), and a 900-volt architecture, allowing it to recharge in as little as 15 minutes at a full-speed 350kW charging station using a Type 2 CCS combination plug.

Some of those elements may flow through to the Boxster EV, but one would assume that a rear-wheel drive model may form the basis, with all-wheel drive reserved for the faster versions.

Mr Frster suggested that all-wheel drive has a vital role to play in fast EVs, not just because it makes them faster from 0-100km/h, but also because having dual motors (one at each axle) can allow a saving of both money and weight.

If you add all-wheel drive on a combustion engine car, yes, you raise your traction a bit, but youre also adding weight, he said.

On electric cars, its a completely new playground.

If we only had a rear-wheel drive car, we would need about 250 kilograms more batteries to reach the same drive time, he said of the GT4 e-Performance racers capability to run for between 25-30 minutes at full flog.

And thats massive. So the decision to go for all-wheel drive, its very clear for a race car, he explained, and its worth noting the GT4 e-Performance weighs less than 1550kg, which is circa 200kg more than the petrol 718 Cayman its based upon.

The advantage is to save weight, but also to save batteries because batteries are expensive, you also save money. If you can reduce both of those by putting in an additional motor in the front which doubles the power of the car? It isnt even an option, he said.

Mr Frster also outlined his desire for the new-gen EV models to have some kind of Porsche aura to them, indicating that there may be some special audio features to increase the emotional bond with the driver and there may even be some inspiration drawn from the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N in terms of engaging the driver.

Youre talking to a motorsports guy, he said of the gearshifts in the electric Ioniq 5 N, which mimics the feeling of a dual-clutch auto gearbox when accelerating by pulsing the motors to change the revs.

It doesnt make you faster, but imagine a 983 [Cayman or Boxster electric] GT4 therefore, its an emotional car, so this could be an option where, maybe, this car comes out, and its just mandatory for sporty electric cars to have a shifting simulator, he said.

Not because of getting the car faster, he asserted. No record on any racetrack will be done with manual shifting. It even shows you the revs, which are fake. But if Im working in motorsport, I would avoid that.

Whether or not there should be a soundtrack outside the car, as well as inside, is another contentious item, Mr Frster said.

One major topic is the sound. The regular road car, the EV, will always have a speaker [under the car] but its up to you as a brand if you use this speaker to fulfil [pedestrian protection] measures or if you use it for a sound you can experience, he said.

As soon as it is an emotional and cool feature, you should have it.

Hyundai did it in a very good way, I would say. Its completely fake, but people are loving it. So I think we need to come with something.

If that isnt your idea of what a Porsche should sound like, you may still be able to buy a petrol-powered 718 model for a few years yet, with speculation that Porsche will offer dual model streams for different buyers for some time.

Porsche will offer the existing petrol-powered Macan SUV alongside the recently revealed electric version, at least in some markets.