Porsche Cayman, Boxster will get electric treatment

ATLANTA — Porsche's midengine Cayman coupe and Boxster convertible will go all-electric around 2025, according to dealers who attended a meeting on the matter with brand executives here.

The repositioning of the two models is part of a drive by the German sports car maker to electrify the bulk of its product line in this decade, the dealers were told.

According to retailers at the presentation, Porsche used the occasion to lay out its strategy to transition from combustion engines to an electrified lineup. The automaker expects battery-powered vehicles and plug-in hybrids to account for more than 80 percent of deliveries worldwide in 2030, the dealers said.

The front-end design of the Boxster EV, which has not been shown in public, is similar to that of the Taycan electric fastback. The rear borrows the full-width taillight design from the Taycan, according to dealers who were shown the convertible.

"The car looks stunning," one dealer told Automotive News. "It looks really sporty."

A battery-powered version of Porsche's bestseller, the Macan compact crossover, is expected to arrive in 2023.

The Macan EV could feature hands-free driving technology and a camera-based driver-monitoring system, according to dealers who were shown the features in a video. Porsche did not say when the technology might come to the U.S.

While an all-electric 911 has been ruled out, a hybrid version is expected toward the end of the decade.

Porsche has already had success selling the Taycan, which has pushed the automaker to add variants to capitalize on it.

Since debuting in late 2019, the all-electric sedan has expanded to eight variants. The lineup will grow again in the middle of next year with two sportier variants — the Taycan GTS sedan and Taycan GTS Sport Turismo.

The GTS models slot in between the Taycan 4S (462 hp) and Taycan Turbo (670 hp).

Porsche began deliveries of the Taycan Cross Turismo this summer. The all-wheel-drive hatchback can deliver up to 750 hp and sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds.