In 2016 the Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman will no longer exist. Instead, we’ll have the 2016 Porsche 718 Boxster and 2016 Porsche 718 Cayman. The real reason why is yet to be determined, but the short answer is probably “because marketing.”
The official statement from the company is that the 718 designation is “a reference to the ground-breaking sports car of this type of the year 1957, which enjoyed much success in renowned car races of the period.”
The car they’re referring to, the 1957 Porsche 718, is indeed a glorious slab of steel:
So, yeah. Great I guess.
More interestingly, Porsche says both the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman will have more “visual and technical” similarities, which sounds like they’ll share body panels and engines. They’re already pretty tough to tell apart as it is.
Both cars will be getting “equally powerful” flat four-cylinder turbocharged boxer engines. No word yet on whether those will be the only engine options, or just the main ones.
We’ll start seeing the “718” badge on these cars over the course of next year.
Images via Porsche
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