Production of the 982-series Porsche 718 – Boxster and Cayman – will officially end in October as Germany’s premier sports car brand transitions its entry-level models to battery-electric powertrains for the next generation.
Confirmation of the death knell was made by Porsche Cars North America to Motor1 this week, however Australian consumers haven’t been able to order a current-gen 718 since August.
Production for our market wound down in the third quarter (of 2024) but some residual stock remains in dealerships around the country, though it varies depending on location, variant and specification.
Other markets, like the US, meantime have had access to the mid-ship models a while longer, even after they were pulled from sale in Europe due to tightening cybersecurity regulations.
Spy imagery of the new-generation, electric 718s has been circulating since late 2022 and yet we still don’t have an official teaser or preview from Porsche – international reports claim the brand is experiencing a few headaches with the models’ development.
The word in December was the project is a long way behind schedule due to complications with the primary battery pack and exponentially growing development costs.
As such, the next-gen 718 isn’t expected to debut until sometime in 2026 which means Porshe will be without a sub-911 sports car for more than 18 months in some markets – depending on how long the new model then takes to arrive.
While technically the support act for the 911, the 982-series 718 endeared itself to thousands of customers and media alike with a distinct appeal and personality of its own that helped it step out from the 911’s shadow and, in the case of the GT variants, rival its more famous stablemate.