- Spy photographers have finally caught the first Porsche Cayman EV testing.
- The prototype coupe has 911 GTS front intake slats and a liftback rear panel.
- Porsche was due to launch the 718 EVs this year, but they may now be delayed.
Porsche first introduced us to the idea of an electric 718 with the 2021 Mission R, a concept racecar that hinted at the next Cayman road car. But for the past three years the only 718 EV prototypes spied testing have been those of the Boxster. Today we finally get a look at its Cayman coupe brother.
These images show the Cayman Electric retains a very similar silhouette to the current 982 ICE model that’s been around since 2016. A large liftback hatch flows from the roof to the tip of an active spoiler that’s retracted here, but will move away from the body at speed.
Related: New Porsche Mission R Is A 1,073 HP Electric Racing Car That Hints At Future Cayman
The vertical third brakelight moves to the top of the hatch and tips a hat to the 911’s design, and maybe it’s just the way the light falls in these pictures but it looks to us like the entire liftback panel might be glass, with the upper and lower sections smoked.
Fake rear quarter window camouflage prevents us seeing that the V-shape of the glass is higher under the disguise and yet more disguise on the rear is designed to trick us into thinking the rear LEDs don’t wrap all the way around. They do, and we sure’s there’s an illuminated Porsche logo under that camo, too.
As you’d expect, the front half of the black two-seater looks almost identical to the front ends of the various Boxsters we’ve seen since 2022. The horizontal bars at either side of the bumper are dummies, there to distract us from the vertical slats mounted behind. These look very similar to the active flaps fitted to the new 911 GTS Hybrid.
EVs don’t tend to need cooling vents, but are these flaps designed to channel air to the battery during racetrack use, or maybe just active aero devices? We’re inclined to think the latter because the Mission R also feature active louvres in its bumper sides that were matched with a two-section rear spoiler to create a drag-reduction system (DRS). For maximum downforce, on the Mission R the flaps were closed and the spoiler extended to its steepest height.
Porsche will offer the Boxster and Cayman EVs in single- and dual-motor forms and was planning to debut them this year and put them on sale in 2026. But recent reports suggest the automaker is struggling to get the dynamics of the new EVs to match the driving engagement of the the (older) ICE models, which might indicate that they could be delayed.
