Porsche 718 Buyer’s Guide

Overview of the Porsche 718

Revealed in 2016, the Porsche 718 was the third generation Boxster/Cayman. Strictly speaking, it was the fourth generation Boxster, the first being the 996-based 986 models of 1997-2004. The Cayman was presented in 2005 and it, and an updated Boxster, shared the 997 chassis. To emphasize that the Cayman was an individual model and not simply a hardtop Boxster, it had detail trim differences and Porsche ensured its engines were slightly more powerful. It was also priced above the Boxster.

2018 Type 982 Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster

Eleven years on, in a change of nomenclature the latest Boxster-Cayman generation, the 982 was named ‘718’ after the 718 the works racer from the 1957-59 period. Henceforth the company abandoned any pretense of difference between Boxster and Cayman, referring to them simply as the 718. Factory performance figures for open and closed 718s were identical, with their weights, despite open and closed bodies, being said to be the same and essentially only pricing was different. This time Porsche pitched the Boxster slightly above the Cayman, more conventional as convertible versions of a model usually cost more than the hard top car. It also ceased to differentiate between Boxster and Cayman in its published production figures, referring simply to ‘718s.’