Porsche will build its electric 718 sports car due mid-decade on the same production line as the gas-powered 911, the automaker said on Thursday.
The production line is located at Porsche's main plant in the Zuffenhausen area of Stuttgart, Germany, and is where Porsche also builds the current gas-powered 718. Since 2022, Porsche has also been building the gas-powered 718 at a Volkswagen Group plant in Osnabrück, Germany, due to capacity limits in Zuffenhausen.
The electric 718 won't be the first EV built in Zuffenhausen. Porsche also builds the Taycan at the plant.
Porsche also said on Thursday it will build electric drive systems for the upcoming electric Macan at the plant. The electric Macan is due early next year and will be built at Porsche's plant in Leipzig, Germany.
Porsche Mission R concept
Porsche will invest around 250 million euros (approximately $271 million) to prepare the Zuffenhausen plant for the electric 718. Among the upgrades will be an expansion of the plant and new production systems that Porsche said will help improve efficiency. A recent efficiency improvement was the introduction of automated gliders on which in-progress builds are moved around the plant. This eliminates the need for a traditional production line and helps makes things more flexible, which Porsche said is advantageous for building vehicles with two different powertrain types on the same line.
The electric 718 has been spotted testing in prototype form and looks to have a design similar to the Mission R concept from 2021. The electric race car concept is also thought to preview the technology of the electric 718.
Instead of the popular skateboard-style EV platform where a flat battery pack is located in the vehicle floor, the Mission R concept uses a T-shape battery that sits in the areas usually reserved for a mid-engine car's engine and center tunnel. Such a layout enables designers to keep the height of the car low while also delivering weight distribution similar to a mid-engine car, and this is likely the route Porsche will take with the electric 718. Maserati plans a similar strategy with an electric version of its MC20 supercar.
Depending on how the market evolves, Porsche plans to offer the current 718 alongside the new electric 718 for a period, perhaps with updates. The automaker is expected to do the same with the Macan following next year's arrival of the electric version.
