Porsche might not be rushing to electrify the 911, but it’s going all-in on the tech for the icon’s Boxster and Cayman little brothers. The current mid-engined sports cars will be replaced by an all-new pair of purely electric cars in late 2024, and we’ve just caught one testing for the first time.
Codenamed 983, the two-seater EVs were previewed by 2021’s Mission R racer concept. The Mission R featured some seriously aggressive aero devices and an all-wheel drive powertrain with almost 1,000 hp (1,014 PS), but the regular showroom Boxster and Cayman won’t be quite so wild.
We’re expecting base cars to get a single motor driving the rear wheels, while hotter models will get all-wheel drive with the addition of a second motor acting on the front axle. But Porsche will claim both versions are technically mid-engined because the battery pack will be positioned behind the driver, but ahead of the rear axle, to allow for a lower roofline and driving position.
Related: Porsche Pushes Back Macan EV Launch By A Year To 2024
This prototype wears some heavy disguise, including a fake center-exit exhaust tailpipe that’s almost certainly there to try to fool spy photographers and journalists and won’t feature on the production car. But its easy to see how closely the overall design of the roadster follows the look laid out by the Mission R concept, including the shape of the LED headlights and the LED strip connecting the rear lamp units just below the trunk lid. It’s possible that the production Boxster and Cayman could also adopt the lower rear-quarter wing just ahead of the rear wheels that’s visible on the concept but hidden on this test car.
Porsche wants EVs to make up half of its global output by 2025, and the new Boxster and Cayman, which are expected to be unveiled two years from now, and the Macan EV that Porsche has been delayed until 2024 due to software issues, will be key to achieving that. The 911, however, won’t be turning into an EV any time soon, although we’ve already spotted multiple prototype hybrid 911s testing.
