Porsche’s electric sports car is getting closer to launch, with prototypes spied wearing little in the way of camouflage.
The German brand hasn’t announced an official reveal date for its 718 Boxster electric car, however it’s getting close as the latest spy photos show an almost production-ready prototype.
Like the outgoing petrol-powered 718 Boxster and Cayman, for which local orders will end in the third quarter of 2024, it wears a front bumper with large air intakes.
However, the slim headlights closely resemble those of the electric Porsche Taycan.
The electric convertible appears to have a flatter, more streamlined look to its sides, though it’s still wearing some disguise here.
Down back, there are slim tail lights that may sit within a full-width lighting assembly, as on other Porsche models.
This prototype also wears black five-spoke alloy wheels not previously seen on other 718 prototypes.
This is the first time we are seeing a 718 prototype without a faux exhaust outlet. The rear bumper also has three square outlets on either side.
While we know the next 718 will be electric, we don’t yet know any details about its powertrain.
Porsche’s vice president Frank-Steffen Walliser told CarExpert in February 2022 an all-wheel drive 718 is “interesting” but pointed to weight, packaging, and weight distribution as reasons a dual-motor setup might not be right for a compact electric sports car.
“The most important thing is controlling the weight of an electric car, engineering emotion from the car,” he said.
“Having a sporty car, it’s not only [about] really good acceleration. It’s handling, it’s feedback, it’s the sound of the car. All these things come together to create a sports car.
“Output is not always the right figure to judge really the capability of the car.”
With that in mind, there’s no guarantee the next 718 will feature a dual-motor powertrain with all-wheel drive. The current model is only available with rear-wheel drive.
Porsche did, however, reveal a dual-motor all-wheel drive sports car concept with the 2021 Mission R concept.
This features a 320kW motor up front and a 480kW motor at the rear, delivering a total of 800kW in qualifying mode or 500kW in race mode.
In 2022 it also revealed the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance prototype, which had a dual-motor system cranking out 735kW in its most powerful mode, or a more sedate 450kW for 30 minutes of flat-out driving.
Both vehicles had an oil cooling system for the motors and battery pack so that performance wouldn’t taper during prolonged stints on track.
MORE: Everything Porsche 718
