We’ve been spying on the next-generation Porsche Boxster for a while now, but this is our first chance to see a prototype with the final lights. Although there’s still a lot of pesky camouflage obstructing our view, it’s evident the headlights have the familiar four-point LED design while the rear appears to have a pair of wide parallel lines. For whatever reason, Porsche insists on putting that fake exhaust tip in the center of the bumper.
Featuring massive brakes front and rear, the Boxster sans a combustion engine is still very much a work in progress judging by the mishmash of old and new body parts. Last month, our spies caught a different prototype to show an all-new interior with a dual-screen setup and capacitive-touch controls. The dashboard layout had more than a few in common with what you’ll find in the 911 but for an interior strictly offered with two seats instead of a 2+2 layout.
Porsche has said the next-generation Boxster will hit the market around 2025, so we’re roughly two years away from its launch. In a recent interview with Road & Track, R&D boss Michael Steiner suggested the EV’s arrival might not necessarily spell the end of the ICE right away. He hinted the two could peacefully coexist for a while, much like the gasoline Macan will be sold alongside the next-generation, electric-only model for a number of years.
“It depends a little bit on the market. In principle, our strategy is that we try to overlap both [982 and 983], but for the current Boxster and Cayman, we’ll run [out of time] due to regulation in Europe.” He was referring to how emissions regulations are tougher in the European Union than in the rest of the world. With the Euro 7 standard likely to be watered down, here’s hoping the ICE Boxster/Cayman will stick around in the EU as well.
The all-new electric 718 has been spied featuring a front trunk and a charging port mounted above the rear license plate. The hot EV is expected to come in both rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations with single- and dual-motor setups, respectively. Only the electric Boxster has been caught thus far, so perhaps its coupe sibling will arrive a bit later.
Porsche has already demonstrated it can develop a (relatively) lightweight electric sports car with the Mission R. It was a conceptual electric Cayman based on the outgoing model that tipped the scales at around 3,306 pounds or only about 187 lbs more than the hardcore Cayman GT4 RS. It even had dual-motor AWD, so a single-motor RWD variant would’ve been a tad lighter.
Following the release of a Macan EV in 2024 and the Boxster/Cayman EV in 2025, Porsche will introduce a next-generation Cayenne and a larger SUV – both only with electric power – in the latter half of the decade.
