Electric Porsche 718 Boxster ride review - a lap with a true great in a new EV built to become one
Porsche is sure it can build its combustion sports car genius into an EV and a ride in the electric 718 Boxster prototype explains its confidence
The shrill sound of a flat-six engine rings out as the Porsche prototype flies down the Weissach test track straight. Coming up fast is a tight right hander, and legendary test driver Walter Röhrl waits, waits, then slams the brakes hard, downshifting by clicking the paddleshifter.
My right side is pressed into the low-set seat as the car’s nose bumps over the apex, then the former rally driver boots it, the revs climb higher, the speed piles on and my mind struggles to process: this…is…an electric car. Welcome to one lap in the all-new ‘Porsche 718 Boxster prototyp’.
It’s a lap that starts with Röhrl telling me: “Normally, I hate electric cars. But this is really fun, it’s like a race car.” And he proceeds to drive it like a race car for the next 1.55-miles, firing up through the – simulated – gears, seemingly blipping the throttle to heel-and-toe on a downshift, pinning me in the seat with lateral g-forces.
What’s most remarkable is the way the nose peels into corners with a swing of my pilot’s wrists: there’s none of that inertia so typical of a heavy electric car. Nor the roll: the Boxster feels utterly braced on its uneven rubber (very wide, 21-inch Pirelli P Zero Rs at the rear, thinner 20s up front), allowing Röhrl to go hard on the rollercoaster circuit – even if he’s probably driving at six-tenths.
Porsche says the secret is the 718’s ‘centre battery layout’. Behind the two seats sits a bulky chest of pouch cells, arranged in two layers and coupled with the battery management system. It sits where the old Boxster’s powertrain was, to give a mid-engined feel. But the EV’s weight distribution – with 55 per cent over the rear axle – is actually closer to a 50:50 split than the old combustion roadster’s.
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Cash £16,760At this early stage, Porsche isn’t talking kilowatt hours but vehicle layouts only: “our compact packaging approach enables the low seating position and authentic sports car feel expected from a Porsche,” says Dr Robert Meier, the company’s vice president of vehicle architecture and characteristics.
The battery feeds the rear drive unit, which uses a single-speed transmission to spin the back axle. It’s overlaid with Porsche’s E-Shift system, freshly introduced on the Taycan sports saloon. This simulates a dual-clutch gearbox, stifling the torque – and the 981 Boxster GTS’ six-cylinder soundtrack – as Röhrl upshifts. Or owners can stick it in automatic mode and use the paddleshifts to control the regenerative braking instead.
A silicon carbide inverter helps harvest energy under braking. Porsche is keeping power outputs under wraps, but this doesn’t feel like an EV with a meaningless, four-figure power output – if we had to guess, it’s probably in the 500-600bhp ballpark. Plenty enough to shift the electric Boxster’s circa-1,700kg kerbweight pretty damn effortlessly.
We pull into the pitlane and I jump out, clocking rear brakes that are smoking beneath fake mid-engined vents forged by stickers. The fake-six ‘wob, wob, wobs’ at idle, then Röhrl is off again, taking the next journalist out for a brief taste.
This crazy relay backs up Porsche’s claims that the electric Boxster just keeps on running. “High energy density and thermal robustness provide the foundation for repeatable performance,” says Dr Meier. “And the 800-volt system, together with intelligent thermal and charging management enables a fast and consistent charging experience.”
But that’s all we know for now – apart from there categorically won’t be a combustion-powered version. The mid-engined electric two-seater goes on sale in 2027, and a fixed-head version will follow. Will they be numbered 718, or called Cayman and Boxster? I wouldn’t bet on it.
Porsche’s new strategy calls for much higher price points, and the Boxster’s breakthrough tech will surely command a price in excess of £100,000. As much as Porsche loves its heritage, putting an old name on a hugely more expensive, leading-edge successor might send the wrong, outdated message.
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