New Porsche 718 Boxster EV will be a mid-engined (sort of)
Speaking to Auto Express, Porsche's head of safety systems, Dr. Simon Maurer, said: 'It's well known that we're making an electric sports car and for that, an underfloor battery will be impossible – not only for the centre of gravity, but also for dimensions.'
With this in mind, the electric 718, which will be offered in coupé Cayman and soft-top Boxster guises, will instead adopt the same mid-mounted stacked battery arrangement as in 2021's Mission R concept. This will give Porsche's EV sports car a similar weight distribution to that of a traditional ICE sports model, and allow for a much lower driving position than is the case in the Taycan. Advertisement - Article continues below
Porsche is not the first to experiment with unique battery configurations; the Maserati Gran Turismo Folgore, for example, arranges its cells in a 'T' shape to enable driver and passenger to sit either side, which is a concept also expected to be mirrored by the upcoming electric Mazda MX-5. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
Nevertheless, Porsche says the 718's battery will be 'smaller than that of the Macan or Taycan' in order to keep weight to a minimum. Otmar Bitsche, the Stuttgart-based firm's expert on EV powertrains, described how the system will instead focus on high energy density, with 'the relative power capability of [the] sports car's cell [being] higher relative to that of the Macan's – maybe about in the same range as the Taycan'.
This being the case, we could expect a battery similar in capacity to the Mission R's 82kWh unit, but much smaller in terms of dimensions than the under-floor pack in the Macan. Porsche tells us that it's aiming for an official range figure of over 300 miles, and that all of its future EVs, for the foreseeable future, will be powered by 800-volt technology, enabling lightning-fast charging.
And that's not all, as vice president of energy systems, Heiko Mayer, told Auto Express that another focus for Porsche with its first electric sports car is to improve battery longevity.
Porsche already estimates its battery systems are good for 15 years and up to 300,000km (186,000 miles). Mayer said: 'Our customers don't just tend to have a [sports car] product for one or two years… they have it for seven, eight or even nine years.' Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
The boffins at Porsche say that a longer lifespan than a traditional EV battery should be expected from the new 718, despite a higher operating temperature to increase performance and the expectation that customers will drive their cars hard frequently.
Not that you'll need to rag the electric 718 too much to get up to speed, as it's expected to come in both single and dual-motor forms, with even the base model likely improving on the petrol model's 4.5-second 0-62mph time. However, we don't quite expect the production car to match the Mission R, nor the subsequent Cayman GT4 ePerformance's titanic 1,073bhp output.
In terms of appearance, the next-generation 718 will essentially look like a modernised version of the current car, taking into account elements found in the Taycan and most recent Porsche 911, such as the quad-dot headlights and straked front bumper (which potentially could have active aero elements) respectively.
As is customary nowadays, the electric Cayman and Boxster will get a full-width light bar at the rear which, like on the new Macan, could be offered with a fully illuminated 'PORSCHE' script. Of course, there'll be no exhaust pipe sitting below, with the optional Porsche Sport Sound generator providing the only audible driving accompaniment.
Inside, the electric 718 is certain to be a revolution in terms of design and tech compared with the ageing petrol model. Just like the Taycan, Macan and 911, the 718 EV will get a fully digital instrument cluster, as well as a widescreen centre display. As is always the case with Porsche models, there will be plenty of scope for customers to specify their car exactly to their liking, with a range of exterior and interior colour choices.
We expect the new electric Porsche 718 to be revealed in the latter stages of this year, going on sale at the beginning of 2026. Pricing is, of course, up in the air at this stage, but a starting figure of around £75,000 for an entry-level Cayman seems likely, with the convertible Boxster inevitably costing slightly more.
Now read our list of the best sports cars ...
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Family-friendly SUV is arguably Ford's best electric car, and great value, too. It's our Deal of the Day for 24 May
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Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Lando Norris blinked to hand advantage to Oscar Piastri in race for the F1 title - it's back to the drawing board for the Brit after Belgian Grand Prix, writes JONATHAN MCEVOY
It's back to the future for Lando Norris. A return to the psychologist's couch. And those championship-denting facts became clear out of the spray at 170mph when he lost the Belgian Grand Prix to Oscar Piastri. Just when you detect a smidgeon of a stiffening to his approach, as with his emphatic win in Austria last month, another reminder comes around the corner that McLaren have a Jackal in their team and that man exploding watermelons is Piastri, not the Briton. In a race delayed for 1hr 20min, for which the dangerous Spa-Francorchamps track was as culpable as cautious FIA officials, Norris's chance of victory lasted a handful of corners and half the Kemmel Straight. The safety car, under which the race finally started, withdrew. Norris, leading after taking pole, made a mistake at La Source, the opening corner. His wheelspin was seized on by Piastri, lying second, and he was all over his quarry as they steeplejacked the famous Eau Rouge corner and then into Raidillon. On to the straight, a fantail of water sprung from Norris's car into Piastri's face. But the Australian, seemingly unhampered by this potential disadvantage, pulled out left and made the pass stick. It was an exhibition of supreme guts. 'Lively,' smiled Piastri afterwards. 'He committed a bit more than me at Eau Rouge,' admitted Norris, the doomed runner-up. 'There was nothing I could do beyond that point.' The outcome was settled there and then, Piastri extending his championship lead to 16 points. Norris talked over the radio of a battery recharging problem. Perhaps, but it sounded too easy an excuse, a possible fact beside the point. At the deciding moment, he had blinked. Piastri had shown pluck in excelsis, and the disparity was all too predictable. On Thursday, in Norris's press dealings, you did not need to be Freud to read a vulnerability in him. That was not evident when he was in charge in Austria. His mind was laser focused then. This time he eschewed the value of 'momentum', as if running scared of it, or at least pushing it out of his mind. Well, momentum is a useful friend as Max Verstappen discovered when he won 22 of 23 races three years ago. It adds up to points at the very least. Piastri's heist gave him the right to go from intermediate tyres to slicks before Norris. Needing to try something different, Norris, alone of all the field opted for hard tyres. Piastri and the rest were on mediums. The cunning plan was that Norris could go to the end and that Piastri would need to stop. Baldrick might have dreamt it up for all it came to pass. Neither stopped again. The difference between tyre compounds is among the most overrated, over-analysed, wrongly read hokum in Formula One. Nobody knows for certain what tyre will be fastest or last longest. Most expert predictions as useful as a manifesto pledge. Anyway, Norris now has to pick himself up for Budapest next Sunday, the last stanza before the summer break. As it stands, it hard to resist the belief Piastri will claim his maiden title. His record of six wins to Norris' four buttresses this expectation. For the record, Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, a place ahead of Max Verstappen, Red Bull's winner of the sprint race on Saturday. Elsewhere, a day of restoration for Lewis Hamilton. The rest of his weekend was dispiriting: he spun in sprint qualifying, finished it 15th, had a time deleted in qualifying proper, and started from the pits in 18th place. But, hurrah, he managed a fine seventh place, his performance echoing old virtuosities. Yes, he was powered by a new Ferrari engine, but in wet conditions he was quicksilver. He was first on to slicks and made immediate good use of them. At one point, he was one second faster than the next man. He pulled off overtakes with dexterity and looked an outside bet for a podium, which would have been his first in red. But his pace was blunted as the track dried and the race lengthened, but still an afternoon in the sun for him. As for the delay, Portuguese race director Rui Marques was, in a harsh assessment, something of a Nervous Nellie. The race could have started earlier than it did, and he deployed a safety car for too long when it eventually crawled into action. But, in fairness, Spa, an especially Eau Rouge, is a hazardous conundrum. Forty-nine fatalities in 100 years at this track attest to this. And then you add in the Ardennes' capricious weather. Not easy. In fact, Spa is the most overrated circuit in the world whatever its many disciples may contend. But that's a debate for another day. For now, all hail Oscar the brave.
BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
Piastri wins rain-delayed Belgian GP after Norris overtake
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The Sun
40 minutes ago
- The Sun
Last chance to save your home security videos before they're ALL deleted as Ring rival renders 3 popular gadgets useless
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