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The Porsche Taycan could pave the way for electric two-seater sports cars

Ronan Glon
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2017 Porsche 718 Boxster S First Drive
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Taycan takes Porsche into the electric car segment for the first time, but it won’t stand on its own for very long. The German firm already announced plans to make an electric, Taycan-based wagon, and it confirmed the second-generation Macan will run exclusively on batteries. Looking ahead, the 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster (pictured) could give up gasoline, too.

The Boxster and the Cayman are the “right cars to start electrification in [Porsche] sports cars,” according to deputy chairman Lutz Meschke. Speaking to British magazine Autocar, he stopped short of confirming an electric two-seater is on its way, but nonetheless shed insight into how it might be built, and why.

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While earlier rumors claimed the 718s might go hybrid, Meschke opined Porsche should skip this step and go straight to pure battery power. If the model receives the proverbial green light for production, it will sit on a new platform created specifically to underpin sports cars, not on a stretched version of the PPE platform found under the Taycan. Porsche is owned by Volkswagen, and it would share the technology with other companies in the group.

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The question is, who would buy an electric Boxster? Porsche already has the answer. Chinese motorists care little about sports cars, they’re (broadly speaking) happier in a Cayenne or a Macan. European motorists living in countries where the government could ban gasoline-powered cars from entering city centers would happily go electric, according to the firm. Big electric car markets in the United States (like California) would scoop up a big chunk of the production run, too.

“Sports cars are part of our history; we can’t just offer electrified SUVs,” Meschke concluded. The battery-powered 718 could go on sale by 2025 if Porsche adds it to its product plan. That doesn’t mean enthusiasts who want a four- or a six-cylinder engine are out of luck, though. Autocar added Porsche plans to sell the gasoline- and battery-powered variants side by side, and it could even bring the flat-six engine back due to popular demand.

It’s following a similar strategy with the Macan; both variants will be sold concurrently to cater to different markets. However, Porsche predicts 60% of its sales will come from electrified (including hybrid and electric) models by 2025.

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Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon
Contributor
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
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