Carpokes Porsche Forum

IMO cancelling the program at this stage makes no sense, too much money has been invested.

It seems to me people gloss over the depth of challenges Porsche faced when the project was conceived, and the unpredictable state of the world in general.

None of us can predict the future, but I hope it’s a smash hit that shocks the car world with how good it is.

J-Dub wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 8:27 am In the current market many 3 year old Boxter/Cayman are still worth the original MSRP, in some cases more.

In the current market many 3 year old Taycan are worth half what they sold for new.

It seems the market is suggesting this is a poor move. Nobody is asking for a mini Taycan.

Excellent points. Time will tell but the current used EV market does indeed suggest that EVs are being considered by the market as highly depreciating disposable cars, something I consider abhorrent for higher end cars. Maybe that changes in the longer term as technology and electric car acceptance levels improve. Maybe.

Regarding the EV 718, if Porsche can make a really good EV sports car, then attitudes for many will obviously change. However, at the moment, that's still a big "if".

I also am now thinking that the 718 EV is Porsche's canary-in-the-mine undertaking before delving further into an all-electric 911. Experimenting with the 718 as an EV sports car is far less of a financial and reputational risk than doing so with the hallowed 911 series, at least at this point. If the new 718 succeeds, Porsche will be more confident in dipping their toes into an electric 911 world.

My take is based a bit on Worker situations VW was trying to rectify and since most of the 718s were being built at Osnabruck and at time Cayennes, it sure seemed that the Plant there could be more flexible than others and continue the gas models of both along with VWs. A flexible Plant like the one there, along with it's close proximity to Ports sure seemed like an answer to help keep some of the workers employed ( though we know they are going to reduce their workforce ) and supply markets outside of Europe not concerned with the EuroZone automotive rules. With the huge shakeup at VW and Porsche one has to wonder if the prior managements stubborn view of European Sales versus their entire World Sales could have been the single major factor for the disruption of Executive Managers!

P_Coastal wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 8:33 am IMO cancelling the program at this stage makes no sense, too much money has been invested.

It seems to me people gloss over the depth of challenges Porsche faced when the project was conceived, and the unpredictable state of the world in general.

None of us can predict the future, but I hope it’s a smash hit that shocks the car world with how good it is.

Agreed. Porsche is definitely not cancelling the new 718 - they are way too far over the precipice to stop now. Besides, they need to confirm that they can make an excellent EV sports car and I think they can. If it succeeds even marginally (and there's no reason for me to believe that Porsche won't be able to do that), then it will be good for the company and customers.

As I said in an earlier post, I think Porsche is not going to rush the new 718 to market. They need to make it right and to have a car that exceeds expectations. It can be done.

WillyDaP wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 8:53 am My take is based a bit on Worker situations VW was trying to rectify and since most of the 718s were being built at Osnabruck and at time Cayennes, it sure seemed that the Plant there could be more flexible than others and continue the gas models of both along with VWs. A flexible Plant like the one there, along with it's close proximity to Ports sure seemed like an answer to help keep some of the workers employed ( though we know they are going to reduce their workforce ) and supply markets outside of Europe not concerned with the EuroZone automotive rules. With the huge shakeup at VW and Porsche one has to wonder if the prior managements stubborn view of European Sales versus their entire World Sales could have been the single major factor for the disruption of Executive Managers!

The problem with 718s was not workers or plants; rather it was that the current gen 718 platform was ancient. For example, the car was no longer compliant with EU regs which is why they stopped being sold there last year. To move forward, Porsche knew that the car would have to be completely redesigned, including electronics, drive-trains, assistance nannies, etc., etc. They chose the all-EV route thinking it was the wisest move.

At the time this EV-only 718 choice was made, all-electric was considered the future due to ever increasing regulations along with a perceived acceptance of EVs by customers. Keeping an ICE 718 alongside an EV (or Hybrid) probably wasn't considered to be financially or strategically viable. Also as many have stated, lead times for model redesign and changes are enormous - it takes many miles to change course on a ship that large.

Porsche may not have done a great job in predicting the direction of things, but that's often the way things go - only hindsight is 20/20 - it's not easy to know the future with perfection.

Time will tell if Porsche made the correct decision, but no matter how it plays out, I feel all will ultimately turn out ok.

J-Dub wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 8:27 am In the current market many 3 year old Boxter/Cayman are still worth the original MSRP, in some cases more.

In the current market many 3 year old Taycan are worth half what they sold for new.

It seems the market is suggesting this is a poor move. Nobody is asking for a mini Taycan.

This is factually correct. However, comparing 4-door sedans and sports coupes isn't an apples to apples. We really don't have a great baseline to compare EV sports cars, since there aren't any in the Boxster/Cayman segment. You may be right when all is said and done. But I'm not ready to project 4-door sedan residuals on a brand-new concept. After all, Panameras drop a lot faster than Boxster and Caymans as well.

J-Dub wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 8:27 am Nobody is asking for a mini Taycan.

Actually, we don't know that. There could be plenty of parties waiting for that.

If the new EV 718 is as good as I think it can be, then Porsche's hopes of it being a success will happen - a legitimately good EV sports car should do well on the sales side. How well is a guess - sales could be just ok or they could be phenomenal. I feel it will initially sell very well in Europe, followed by North America and elsewhere, especially if it generates a buzz and catches on. Pricing will be crucial.

Given the inherent range limitations, it always seemed to me that 'fun' cars might be well-suited to electric power, but that might be a paradox if the very act of electrifying them makes them un-fun. I think it comes down to the execution.

Tom wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 3:05 pm ...but that might be a paradox if the very act of electrifying them makes them un-fun. I think it comes down to the execution.

If we define "fun" as lots of noise, peaky power band and a bunch of gears, an EV will be un-fun. But if we decide that instant 'throttle' response, full-torque from 0 on up, and crazy acceleration might be 'fun', Porsche should be able to make that happen. The big feat will be keeping the weight down, but they are well aware of that. And while it's unrealistic with current battery technology to ask for an EV sports car to come in at the same ~3100 lbs (~1400 kg) as my current 718 Cayman, they should be able to hit ~3500 lbs (~1600 kg) which is what many 911s weigh. So good handling and road character is not impossible.