With the kettle on and a gentle wisp of smoke signifying that the boiler is combating the early morning chill and damp, the narrowboat nearest to our stationary 718 gently put-put-puts away from its mooring at Brindley Quays, a large marina in Northamptonshire on the Grand Union Canal. Around it for almost as far as the eye can see lie similar narrowboats, with only the occasional smoke trail signifying a sign of life in perhaps a handful of them. The rest are lying motionless, silent and vacant; objects of entertainment and weekend enjoyment, but no longer the literal pumping lifeblood at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution.
Now I know what some of you might be thinking. What on earth do narrowboats have to do with Porsche’s entry-level sports car, the cheapest one in its current range? And no, this isn’t yet another assault on the turbo flat four’s often-controversial, chugging exhaust note and in-car thrash. Although, having said that, I’d be lying if I didn’t have a little smirk at the vague similarity between the engine note of the boat that just departed and the sound of this 718 Cayman Style Edition as it idles away. Sorry, 718 owners, but…
No, the reason we’re using the marina as a backdrop is because, with the imminent disappearance of the 718 series (or so we all thought – more on that in a bit), Porsche’s sports car is going all-EV. With that, it’s time to not only say goodbye to this fascinating footnote in Porsche’s history, but also to the idea of a mid-engined Porsche sports car with an internal combustion engine (ICE) as a whole.
AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND
More than ever, the future in automotive terms looks uncertain. I honestly have no idea how, where and at what cost we’ll be able to experience cars like the 718 a few years down the road. Moreover, in the days between driving this car and writing this article, Porsche announced a significant re-investment in ICE development and hybrid technology, creating an inevitable uncertainty around its previous all-EV strategy, with which there are apparently problems in the supply of the batteries that are said to be a big part of the new 718’s groundbreaking design.
Does the ICE 718 live on? Probably not, for this is a car that dates back to 2012. But what the exact market positioning of the electric sports car is and any combustible fuel-powered car that may or may not sit beside it in the range remains to be seen.
Perhaps our own sports car future will be like the world of canal boats? No one transports heavy loads of coal, iron and crops along the nation’s waterways any more, but that doesn’t mean that the canal network is superfluous; in fact, it’s in better health than ever. There’s a burgeoning leisure market, whether it’s for an alternative lifestyle or just a quiet, relaxing way to explore nature at weekends. Maybe our ICE sports cars will be something along those lines and maybe synthetic fuel will be the lifeline required? Honestly, as it stands, I wouldn’t like to call it.
That the 718 (or 982, to give it its code number) would arrive on the scene in 2016 was predictable, given Porsche’s perennial habit of ‘facelifting’ its models halfway through their natural product lifestyle to keep them up to date with market trends and boost sales interest. What was less predictable was the development in the engine room, for the 718 encapsulated that great automotive push of the noughties, in turn giving us a doughty industry buzzword: ‘downsizing’.
Under pressure to lower CO2 emissions and improve fuel consumption, almost all manufacturers began to move away from escalating displacements and instead looked to increase specific output through forced induction while reducing the cubic capacity of their engines.
This era led to the demise of so many great engines across all marques. However, for Porsche, there was a satisfying precedent. After all, the humble four-cylinder motor was Porsche for the first 15 years or so of the company’s existence. What better historical playbook to activate? For the 911, that meant shrinking from 3.4- and 3.8-litre engines with the 991.1 to a one-size-fits-all 3-litre twin turbo engine in the 991.2. It was that MA2 motor, when shorn of a pair of cylinders, that effectively gave us the 718’s turbo flat four.
FALSE STARTS
I remember attending Porsche’s ‘technology workshop’ day for the 718 back in March 2016. After flying into Nice airport, we were transferred to Michelin’s Fontage test track facility where Porsche had set up camp, complete with a row of world-weary 718 Boxster prototypes. There were engineers, marketing and PR people along with a few of Porsche’s hot-shoe test drivers and, after some presentations, we were escorted out to the cars. I can’t remember exactly whether I drove it or not. I think I did, but we weren’t allowed to say in print that we had, only that we were driven by one of the test drivers. I remember all the pre-production cars were Boxsters, there being no Caymans present.
One memory is that they had an engine on a stand on display in the foyer area and its sheer lack of size made for an arresting sight. In spite of this, the main message seemed to be the challenge developing the engine had posed in terms of not only making everything fit into a car that had originally been designed for a naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine, but also of keeping the engine cool. Turbocharged engines create lots of heat and the 981/718 engine location is low, in the middle of the car and out of sight. After looking at what we were told were “30 different solutions”, the engineers had settled on a charge-cooler setup, which required a complex series of radiators.
Of particular interest, too, were the changes to the chassis. On reflection, I’ll include what I wrote here because it’s a level of detail that Porsche was more coy about going into later in the 718’s life:
“There’s a new electrically assisted steering rack, carried over from the 911 (991) but with bespoke software for the 718. Specifically, this is the more direct ratio version, only used in 911 models where it’s teamed with the rear-wheel steering system, although that hasn’t been necessary here. Just exactly why explains much of the work that has taken place on the rear axle. The penalty for a 10 per cent more direct front end – the rack is quicker away from the straight ahead, but then is much the same as before once a good handful has been taken – is (usually – sic) a nervous car at high speed. The added weight, and no doubt cost, of rear-wheel steering has been eschewed in favour of increasing rear wheel width, now up to as much as 10.5”. The rear axle has also been made stiffer as an entire unit, thanks to a bracing bar located at the front of the arrangement in much the same manner as the Cayman GT4. For this new application, a further two mounting points have been added to the subframe structure that underpins the entire unit. The rear struts have also been made thicker – 40mm inside now instead of 36mm on a 981 – and the rear links are stronger too. Thicker driveshafts have been employed to deal with the much more potent torque outputs.”
Fast-forward to early July and it was the turn of the international press launch, held around Malmö in Sweden and at a small racing circuit called Sturup. Both standard 718 2-litre and 2.5-litre S models were available to drive, this time in the Cayman body shell. Looking back through the article I wrote after it, whether it was the prolonged exposure of more miles or the fact that the metal roof of the coupé encapsulated the four-cylinder’s thrum inside the cockpit, it’s clear I was less than enamoured with the new engine, even if I thought the car drove better than ever before.
My review for 911 & Porsche World concluded with this sentiment: “The trouble with having a flaw with the engine of the car is that, when it comes to a sports car, that’s the heart of the matter. The rest of the car can be sublime and, in this case, I don’t think that’s too strong a word for the 718. But when something so fundamental as the engine isn’t right, then it’s hard for it to not cast a very real shadow over the rest of the proposition.” That was followed by “I’m certain I wouldn’t buy a 2-litre.”
The issue was simply the lack of refinement with the four-cylinder engine, particularly with the 2-litre lump, which, as it did without the added entertainment from the S model’s variable vane turbocharger and the additional displacement, seemed all the more monotonous. Other journalist colleagues were even less kind, likening its clatter and vibrations to a cement mixer or a dump truck. Just what had Porsche done?
STYLE FOR MILES
As it turned out, Porsche would make a number of tweaks over the years to these boxer units, having been stung by the criticism it received at the model’s launch. It was rare for a Porsche sports car to not be met with rapturous adoration at launch and the company did respond, although it rarely made much noise in public about the tweaks they were doing behind the scenes. It’s true the nature of the engines did improve, but the inherent qualities were sealed in from the start and, as I’m about to be reacquainted with, haven’t changed.
This Guards Red Style Edition certainly catches the eye. Whether you’re a fan of the red with white look is entirely a personal thing, but I do think the 20” alloys are massive overkill for a car with 296bhp. They tip the power/grip ratio far too much towards the latter, compromise the ride quality and make the brake discs appear puny, but I get that many will ignore all of that in the pursuit of aesthetics – which are of supreme importance for many buyers. This example is PDK too and, while I concede it suits the engine’s characteristics very well and offers so much bandwidth to the driving experience, for me a lower-powered sports car should always have a manual gearbox. I just miss the sense of connection with the machine.
I’m told RE24 AWA has had a quiet life in the press fleet, largely because most of the media feel they ‘know’ the 718 by now, but also because there are so few rivals for the car, depressingly, in the new car market. The comparison with the Alpine A110 is eternally valid but, once made, there is very little else to talk about. That said, it’s been a long time since I’ve driven a 718 and I have to say I’m supremely excited to rediscover the car…
As for the ‘Style Edition’ part of it, I confess this one had passed me by. Back in 2022, Porsche unveiled this package for the 718 consisting of the 20” 718 Spyder wheels in high gloss black as standard, black sport tailpipes, a black centre stripe and Porsche script down the doors. This can also be had as a ‘white package’, as this car here features. Inside, there’s a leather package, stainless steel kickplates, a multi-function heated steering wheel and climate control as standard. The car is otherwise unchanged from standard specification, with a top speed of 171mph and a 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds if you have PDK or 5.1 seconds if you have the manual gearbox.
I notice that the price contained in the original press release for the Style Edition was £51,600, but these days the car will set you back £58,000 and, with just a smattering of options, this particular example lists at £59,150. That still feels like good value, with the key additional option on this car being the PTV torque vectoring limited slip differential (£926); select the diff option on a standard car today and you automatically have to have the 10mm-lower PASM sports suspension. A small increase in prices means that the PTV is now £1,019 and the PASM is £1,112.
SMALL WONDER
The little four-cylinder engine fires up with none of the silky whir that characterises its six-cylinder forebear and settles to a very mechanical idle. It might not have seduced my ears but, even during the first few yards, the 718 is such a wonderfully appealing car. It’s compact but not small or cramped; responsive and enthusiastic but not overpowered and unusable. It just feels right.
The cornerstone of the 718’s performance is its torque, which dwarfs that of its predecessor. I’ve always loved the little 2.7-litre flat six in the 981, especially the way it spins up so sweetly, but with just 206lb/ft and requiring 4,500 on the rev counter, it is far from the brawniest of engines, particularly when tasked with hauling the base 981’s long gear ratios. The 718 combats this with 280lb/ft from just 1,950rpm. The difference on paper is obvious and so it plays out on the road too, where the rear axle is put to work with much more conviction in the 718, fundamentally changing the driving experience on offer and especially given the limited slip differential fitted to this example.
This, then, is one of the key reasons you might choose the 718 over the 981. The roads are cold and greasy today and the 718 has no trouble kicking the rear loose on the exit of corners, if that’s your thing. Putting it bluntly, what you lose in sonic appeal, you gain in oversteer. You also benefit from a supremely agile chassis, with steering that’s quicker and more incisive directly away from the straight ahead, the whole car being so keen to change direction.
At 1,365kg, it’s more than 200kg heavier than, say, an Alpine A110, but it’s lighter than any 992 and you really do feel that responsiveness in your hands. It also permeates the entire driving experience. There is no disguising weight, even if its effects can be masked by superb engineering. Take the new 992.2 GTS, for example, which I was driving before this 718. Its extreme power, firm suspension and massive tyres all give it a huge performance advantage over this little 718 but, at sane speeds on the public roads, it’s the 718 that feels more alive, more entertaining, quicker to respond for that first crucial fraction of a second, if far from it thereafter.
ALL IS FORGIVEN
The more I drive the 718 over the course of a few days, the more I come to love it. There’s something wonderfully egalitarian about Porsche’s cheapest new car being arguably their most enjoyable, but I must speak as I find: it wouldn’t be the most fun on an Alpine pass, the Nürburgring, the autobahn or at Silverstone. It’s not the most eye-catching or something to shout about in the way some do of its more illustrious relations but, for more ordinary drives on more ordinary roads, it has an infectious sense of fun that used to be an integral part of every Porsche but that has inevitably had to take a back seat in the newer offerings as power, speed, weight, size, creature comforts, safety and everything else you care to mention have risen empirically.
I think I’ve even made peace at last with the flat four. From once hating its rough machinations, I now see it through a different lens, perhaps motivated by the imminent demise of internal combustion engines as a whole. I don’t even mind the vibration you get through the body at low engine speeds, although I’m still amazed Porsche didn’t manage to filter more of this out with some clever engine mountings. It’s a plucky, characterful presence, like an old friend where you tolerate their failings but choose to celebrate their strengths instead.
Without wishing to drone on about the larger wheels, they do spoil the ride quality at times without PASM to keep them under better control and feel a little like a dumbbell at each corner on a bad surface, where the additional forces they’re putting through the suspension clouds the feedback from the car and introduces vagueness to the steering. Smaller, lighter wheels would solve this; the standard 18” items aren’t a bad design. Still, if you’re forced to select PASM anyway in combination with the differential, that would help manage this.
Perhaps most of all, it’s the overall package that’s still so right; the three luggage areas (under the front bonnet, over the shoulder and in the boot at the rear) that make it so practical; the long-distance comfort, with its cocoon-like cockpit and excellent seats (although I’d definitely upgrade to the Sports Seats Plus with their shoulder support – you really miss that, in my view, and it would be money well spent); the respectable fuel economy; the ease of placing it on the road where you want it because it’s not too wide. It still has so much to offer, even in its twilight years.
All of which makes me think it might be a case of ‘buy one while you still can’. This car – this platform since 2012, in fact – has done exceptional things for Porsche and has earned its place in the firm’s revered back catalogue through some wonderful cars. Yet, bar the rather simplistic infotainment system (which I like, along with its buttons as well), it doesn’t feel old at all. It still has just as much relevance now as it ever did, perhaps more so. I feel sure the forthcoming Cayman EV, or whatever it will be called, will be both faster and a lot more capable, but I’m not convinced yet that I desire it in the same way. For now, I’m keeping an open mind. But, in these uncertain times, I do know one thing: when the time comes to hand the 718 Style Edition back, my face is as glum as a narrowboat pilot with a hole in the bottom of his hull.
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This feature was written by Adam Towler and first appeared in the April 2025 issue of our monthly Club magazine, Porsche Post. to receive your copy, as well as enjoying a host of exclusive member benefits and savings.