Next-gen Porsche 718 EVs being reworked for petrol power

Porsche will install petrol power into its previously electric-only new duo

Porsche is preparing to adapt its next-generation 718 Boxster and Cayman platform to accept petrol engines, in an abrupt U-turn on plans for the models to go EV-only.
Production of the fourth-gen Boxster and Cayman ended last month, with new bespoke electric versions due this year. But with EV demand waning, Porsche had already announced it would continue selling “top” variants – tipped to be the RS and GT4 RS versions – of the current models.
That was part of a “strategic realignment” that included Porsche rolling back a number of EV plans, taking a £6.65bn hit in the process.
Now, senior sources at the company’s Weissach engineering centre have told Autocar that Porsche is also working on returning the petrol duo to the line-up by reverse-engineering the EV-only PPE Sport platform, developed for the 2026 electric successors, to accommodate a mid-mounted engine.
The move is aimed at ensuring maximum product