From the May 2023 issue of Car and Driver.
WHAT IT IS
Aside from the follow-up to one of Porsche’s best models, it will be Porsche’s first electric sports car. Not a big deal, right?
WHY IT MATTERS
An established Porsche model going electric will send shock waves through the industry. The 911 may be Porsche’s gold standard, but the 718 is a high-visibility car, and its success or failure could dictate the market direction of electric sports cars.
PLATFORM
This will be the first Porsche on the Volkswagen Group’s PPE platform. That means almost nothing will carry over from the current 718. Chassis balance will remain, well, balanced because the battery will occupy most of the space aft of the firewall where the engine is today, to ensure that the current car’s mid-engine handling will remain intact. A 900-volt electrical architecture will ensure the fastest DC charging.
POWERTRAIN
Porsche is targeting a curb weight of 3650 pounds. At that weight, the car won’t need massive energy capacity to deliver strong acceleration. Expect the base model to have a single motor with at least 450 horsepower driving the rear wheels. Later, a second motor driving the front wheels will bring all-wheel drive to the 718, and eventually, there will be a model with upward of 1000 horses.
COMPETITION
Late-model used Boxsters and Caymans; Tesla Roadster (if that ever gets off the ground); Lotus Emira.
WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG
Getting the emotion right will make or break the 718 EV. If the car is too clinical, as many EVs are, the enthusiasm to own one will wane. There is a good chance no one wants their toy car to be an EV. At least not yet.
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AND PRICE
Expect to see the 718 EV early next year, with a fall 2024 on-sale date. The Porsche hierarchy will remain, but the 718 EV will cost about $15K more than the current base 718. Look for pricing to start near $80,000 and, as usual, near-endless factory options.
Executive Editor
K.C. Colwell is Car and Driver’s executive editor, who covers new cars and technology with a keen eye for automotive nonsense and with what he considers to be great car sense, which is a humblebrag. On his first day at C/D in 2004, he was given the keys to a Porsche 911 by someone who didn’t even know if he had a driver’s license. He also is one of the drivers who set fast laps at C/D‘s annual Lightning Lap track test.