Porsche 718 Boxter and Cayman End Of an Era

Porsche will be saying goodbye to its 718 Boxter and 718 Cayman earlier than expected, in Europe at least. It’s probably also not for a reason you would typically expect. European legislation have instituted UN R155, which establishes a mandatory cybersecurity standard for the automotive industry. Automakers are required to embed specific cybersecurity protections within the high-volume vehicles sold in the EU. So what does this mean exactly? Well, after July 1, 2024, any new 718 Boxter or Cayman not sold will not be able to be registered due to being susceptible to hackers. 

Porsche has decided to retire these two models instead of updating them to be compliant with UN R155. The process would require an amount of time and money that would not be worth its return in the long term. In order to meet requirements, Porsche would have to completely re-engineer the 718 pair, and being as the platform debuted in 2016 it doesn’t make sense for the aging model. Initially the combustion-powered cars were supposed to be in production alongside their upcoming electric 718 brethren, but that plan has since been axed. The compact SUV Macan is also an unfortunate casualty to the legislation also.

Porsche representative, Oliver Hilger stated, “In the European Union and some states that apply EU legislation, the combustion-powered 718 models will not be available indefinitely. Any models that do not meet these requirements will no longer be eligible for new registration in the EU after the beginning of July 2024. This applies not only to 718 models with an internal combustion engine but to all models from all manufacturers, and this regardless of whether it is an e-vehicle or one with an internal combustion engine. In regions where the relevant EU legislation is not applied, the 718 models with an internal combustion engine can remain available for longer.” Since this legislation only affects the higher-volume models, the limited edition Cayman GT4 RS and Boxter RS Spyder will be exempt.

As tech continues to progress especially in our vehicles, this will definitely have a lasting impact on the automotive industry. The development process will have to be upgraded to take the directive into account and the ripples will be felt even in regions that don’t have to deal with the legislation. Luckily this won’t affect sales in the US and many other worldwide regions so those will still be able to continue enjoying that combustion-powered 718 for a few more years.