Back From The Supposed Dead: Electric Porsche Cayman And Boxster Are Apparently Still Coming

I've got some great news for people who like cool cars: Porsche is apparently scrapping the idea of scrapping the electric 718 Cayman and Boxster, or maybe there was never a plan to axe the two upcoming electric sports cars at all, and we in the media just got too ahead of ourselves. A new interview with Porsche's Australia Managing Director and CEO reaffirms that the twin two-seaters are currently still in development, following wide reporting to the contrary because of strategies put in place by the company's new global CEO, Michael Leiters.

There's no exact timeline for when the electric 718 Cayman and Boxster will hit showroom floors, according to Porsche Australia boss Daniel Schmollinger, who spoke with Australia's Car Sales auto outlet. However, they're still going to arrive before their internal-combustion-powered counterparts. This good news is admittedly a bit unexpected. Porsche has faced a hell of a lot of challenges in developing the next-generation Boxster and Cayman. When you add in the fact that the company, under Leiters, is scaling back its EV strategy, it wouldn't exactly be a shock if these two cars bit the dust before they even hit the road. Luckily for us enthusiasts, though, that's not the case, and they'll join in with their Audi Concept C sibling in the electric sports car fun.

Schmollinger tells Car Sales that the program is on track and that he's even driven a prototype of the 718 on track, saying it's "actually amazing." I'm sure it'll be quite good, but he may also be a bit biased in this regard. Here's what else he said to the outlet:

"So I had the chance to drive it on a race track and it was just amazing. A Boxster type of car should give you the weight distribution, a very go karty feeling and it provides that."

"And with the electric engine, of course, it gives you even more dynamic driving.

There are still plenty of things we don't know about the cars, especially when it comes to performance figures and launch specifics. Apparently, there's now even some mild doubt about the cars' combustion engine future. When asked about whether or not they'd still be offered with gas motors, Schmollinger apparently kept quiet, telling Car Sales that it's "very early" to speculate. He did admit that the door was still very much open to both gas and plug-in hybrid power — something we reported on in the past.

"Headquarters is basically constantly evaluating where the opportunities are. Every six months they look into what can we do and what do we not want to do," Schmollinger told Car Sales. "So there is opportunity out there."