The Next Porsche 718 Will Get Petrol Engines After All

Well, here’s a bit of news that, while not entirely surprising, will still brighten the Monday morning of anyone who prefers their sports cars to have several thrashing pistons in them rather than a big battery (read: most people). In a 180 on what the company has previously promised, the next-generation Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster will get petrol power after all.

Porsche confirmed the news in a recent investor call, unsurprisingly citing an industry-wide slowdown in EV demand. The next-gen 718 was originally due to be electric-only, but while Porsche’s press release on the matter doesn’t specifically mention it, slides shown to investors during the call confirm that there will be “top ICE derivatives” for the next-gen sports car.

That likely means that, while the entry-level versions of the car will remain EV-only, potential GT4, Spyder, and RS derivatives will get combustion power. Exactly what engines they’ll receive remains to be seen, but some form of flat-six seems fairly likely – although whether they’ll be able to retain the natural aspiration of their predecessors is another story altogether.

It’s not the only upcoming Porsche to get its powertrain plans realigned. The in-development seven-seater SUV, codenamed ‘K1’ and long thought to be a pure EV, will instead launch with combustion and plug-in hybrid power. That’s alongside the smaller combustion SUV the company is working on to sit alongside the new Macan EV. It’s also confirmed that the Panamera will join the current Cayenne in being available with petrol power into the next decade.

Porsche’s not entirely giving up on EVs, though. As well as the electric versions of the next 718, the new Cayenne EV is due for a reveal before the end of 2025. It is, however, pressing pause on the development of a new EV platform, originally slated to debut at some point in the 2030s.

All this is due to have many complicated results for the company, including more short-term financial tumult as it instead focuses on long-term stability, but at least one of the results is easy for us to understand: the petrol Cayman and Boxster will live. Hurray!