Porsche 718 Boxster EV 2027: E-Core battery layout, 800-volt system and E-Shift
Porsche is using an E-Core battery behind the seats in the electric 718 Boxster and Cayman, keeping the driving position low and the mass near the center.
Porsche has not turned the upcoming 718 Boxster into a conventional EV with a flat battery under the cabin. The high-voltage pack sits directly behind the seats, roughly where the engine lived in the previous mid-engined 718. This E-Core architecture helps preserve a low seating position and concentrates mass closer to the center of the car.
In the prototype, 55.2% of the weight sits over the rear axle, compared with 59.8% in the petrol Boxster. Car and Driver also reports an E-Core architecture, an 800-volt electrical system and an E-Shift function that simulates gear changes and accompanies them with synthesized sound. Porsche has not yet disclosed the final power output, range, battery capacity or price.
For Porsche, this layout addresses two common problems of electric sports cars at once. A floor-mounted battery can lower the center of gravity, but it can also raise the seating position and overall body height. In the 718, the battery is structurally integrated into the chassis and concentrated behind the seats, so engineers are trying to preserve the feel of a mid-engined car rather than simply chase strong acceleration figures.
At its Capital Markets Day, Porsche officially confirmed the fully electric 718 Boxster and Cayman in its future lineup. The wording matters: 2028 is described as the first full year of production, not necessarily the moment series production begins. Car and Driver reports that the new 718 models are expected to arrive in 2027.
The 911 will follow a different path. During Capital Markets Day, Porsche CEO Michael Leiters said the model would “never” become electric. For now, that is best understood as the company’s current strategic position rather than a technically guaranteed promise for decades to come.
The main news around the 718 is therefore no longer the move to electric power itself — that has been known for some time. Porsche is now showing how it intends to preserve the character of the Boxster and Cayman after removing the combustion engine, and the unusual battery layout appears to be a central part of that answer.