After years of saying that the next-generation 718 Boxster and Cayman will be electric only, Porsche reversed course on Monday. The sports car brand now says that “top” versions of the 718 will be available with gasoline engines. In today’s polarized world, as an EV fan, this should enrage me. But it doesn’t. It’s the right call, even if you think the EV transition is happening too slowly.
The reason is simple. Sports cars are emotional purchases, and you cannot force people to love something. Today’s EVs are more efficient, easier to drive in traffic, quieter and smoother than gas cars. But none of these metrics matter to sports car buyers; they seek an emotional experience.
This is where today’s electric performance cars are still finding their footing. So far, the most “emotional” electric enthusiast car has been a 5,000-pound Hyundai SUV that pretends to have a gasoline powertrain. If you’re going to have to fake it, anyway, it makes sense to cut the gimmicks and give buyers in this segment the powertrains they want.
The Ioniq 5 N rocks. But if your best pitch for an electric performance car is “it feels like a gas car,” it’s easy to see why some buyers remain skeptical.
Photo by: DW Burnett / Motor1
Because unlike crossovers and family sedans, sports car demand is highly elastic. If you launch a sports car that people don’t want with their entire body, they’re just not going to buy a sports car. It’s not like anyone needs one. The average Porsche buyer is 52 years old. They have likely been dreaming of a flat-six sports car for decades. It’s ok if they don’t want an EV yet.
They will eventually. As technology matures, companies will figure out how to make lighter, more engaging electric sports cars at a price that’s comparable to a gas-powered alternative. But the truth is that it simply hasn’t happened yet. Nobody is offering an electric Mazda Miata fighter for $35,000 (or at least not here), and while an electric 718 will certainly be great, it will likely take some time for Porsche to refine its formula.
Our rendering of the Porsche 718 Cayman EV.
Photo by: Motor1.com
That’s ok. The transition to EVs is happening, regardless of whether it happens quickly enough to satisfy us. And among all of the gas cars out there, I’m least worried about sports cars. Sports cars are typically second or third cars in this country, and are driven way less than the average vehicle. A recent iSeeCars study found that the average Mazda Miata is driven just 5,073 miles per year, the lowest of any car in the study.
Since the sports car market tends to prioritize weight reduction and low-drag designs, many of these vehicles aren’t even that inefficient. A V-8 Chevy Corvette still manages to get 25 mpg on the highway. With a buyer that’s pushing 60 years old on average and rarely drives more than a few thousand miles per year, I just don’t think electric Corvettes can move the needle the way an all-electric Equinox has.
That’s not to say companies shouldn’t be solving this problem. There will come a time when most sports cars are electric, and the brands that started their work early will be in a better position. But that’s why I’m not remotely worried about Porsche. The company is bringing an electric sports car to market. It has proven it can make world-beating, ultra-fast-charging, enganging EVs. If it has to sell a few gas sports cars to keep its buyers interested, I say go right ahead. Because by the time a 2027 Cayman buyer is ready to trade in for the new model, the all-electric one is going to have the fossil-burner licked.
Progress is happening. It just takes time.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.
