Porsche appears to be making one of the most unexpected strategic pivots in recent years. According to AutoCar, the company is rethinking the next-generation 718 Boxster and Cayman, originally conceived as fully electric, and is now weighing the option of a gasoline engine. The fourth-generation 718 was taken out of production in November 2025, and the debut of its electric successors had been expected soon after.

Cooling demand for EVs has pushed Porsche to recalibrate, a step that, sources say, resulted in a one-off write-down of about £6.65 billion. Engineers are exploring an unorthodox route: reverse-adapting the PPE Sport electric architecture to accept a mid-mounted internal-combustion engine. The aim is to retain component commonality and use existing manufacturing capacity, but the technical lift is immense.

The PPE platform was designed purely for EVs, with the battery working as a structural element. Remove the pack, and body stiffness drops sharply; that would force the team to engineer a new load-bearing floor, additional reinforcements, a rear subframe, and a fireproof bulkhead.

It gets trickier. The platform lacks a central tunnel, space for a fuel tank, an exhaust route, and fuel lines, which means the rear of the body would effectively need a clean-sheet redesign. Inside Porsche, they emphasize that a gasoline version of the new 718 only makes sense if its performance and handling keep pace with the electric alternative. The choice of engine is still open.

The naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six had been considered out of step with Euro 7, but a softening of requirements and new exceptions for sports models make that option plausible again.

Against the backdrop of waning interest in electric sports cars, Porsche’s pivot reads as sensible. Buyers of the 718 value sensation, sound, and mechanical feel as much as acceleration figures. If the brand preserves that character—even at the price of complex engineering—a gasoline-powered 718 could well prove more appealing than its quieter battery-electric successor.