Porsche’s next compact sports car family is quietly turning into one of the most radical platform experiments in the industry, with an electric architecture that may yet carry a combustion engine. Instead of abandoning internal combustion outright, the company is working on a flexible sports-car base that can host both battery packs and petrol hardware, a move that could reshape how performance brands navigate the transition to electric power.
Behind the scenes, engineers are rethinking an EV-specific chassis so it can also serve as the foundation for traditional engines, even as Porsche publicly commits to a long-term electrification strategy. The result is a future in which the same core sports platform could deliver silent zero-emission laps one moment and classic flat-four or flat-six theatrics the next.
The 718 pivot: from EV-only to a dual-powertrain future
The next generation of the Porsche 718 was originally framed as a clean break, a compact sports car family moving fully into the electric era. That plan is now being reworked, with reporting indicating that the upcoming 718 will not just be battery powered but could also be offered with combustion engines on the same basic architecture. In other words, what was once conceived as a pure EV line is evolving into a mixed portfolio that keeps petrol power in play.
That shift is not a minor tweak to a product plan, it is a philosophical adjustment. The idea that the next Report on the 718 would be about a fully electric successor has given way to a scenario where electric and combustion versions coexist, reflecting how Porsche is reading demand in the sports car segment. For a nameplate that has long served as the entry point into the brand’s mid-engined performance world, keeping both options alive signals that the company sees value in catering to traditionalists and early EV adopters at the same time.
Inside Weissach: reengineering PPE Sport for combustion
To make that dual approach possible, engineers at Weissach are not simply dropping an engine into an existing EV shell, they are reworking the underlying PPE Sport platform that was designed around batteries. Sources within Porsche’s Weissach development center have indicated that the company is actively adapting this PPE architecture so it can support a full internal combustion lineup alongside electric variants. That means the same basic sports-car structure could underpin everything from an all-electric coupe to a petrol-powered roadster.
The technical challenge is significant because the PPE Sport layout was conceived as a dedicated EV platform, with its proportions, crash structures, and weight distribution optimized around a battery pack rather than an engine and fuel tank. Yet the work at Weissach suggests Porsche believes it can reconcile those conflicting demands, preserving the low seating position and sharp dynamics expected of a 718 while making room for exhaust routing, cooling systems, and transmission hardware that a pure EV does not need.
The PPE Sport challenge: turning a stressed battery into a flexible spine
The core of the engineering puzzle lies in how the PPE Sport platform uses its battery. In its original form, The PPE Sport layout relies on a stressed, load-bearing battery pack that forms a structural part of the chassis, combined with a flat floor that helps keep the center of gravity low. That configuration is ideal for an electric sports car, but it becomes a constraint when engineers try to integrate a combustion engine, transmission tunnel, and fuel system without compromising rigidity or safety.
Reworking that stressed pack into a more flexible spine means Porsche has to rethink how crash forces are managed and how torsional stiffness is maintained when the battery is no longer the only structural element. The company is effectively trying to preserve the advantages of a flat EV floor while carving out the space and mounting points needed for a petrol drivetrain, a task that explains why adapting PPE Sport to combustion power is described as a complex, rumor-fueled effort rather than a simple bolt-on exercise.
From EV-only ambition to a flexible product strategy
What is happening with the 718 platform fits into a broader realignment of Porsche’s product roadmap. The company has publicly framed its future around electrification, but it has also acknowledged that customer demand and regional regulations are evolving at different speeds. In a detailed corporate update, Porsche AG described final steps in the realignment of its product strategy, signaling that it is resolutely continuing its transformation while still planning for a medium to long term period in which multiple powertrains coexist.
That corporate framing helps explain why an EV sports platform is being adapted rather than abandoned. Instead of treating combustion and electric models as separate families, Porsche is building flexibility into its architectures so it can dial the mix up or down depending on how markets respond. The decision to let an electric sports chassis also host petrol engines is a tangible expression of that realignment, giving the brand room to adjust its portfolio without restarting development from scratch every time regulations or buyer preferences shift.
Market reality: EV demand, sports-car buyers, and Porsche’s calculus
The move toward a dual-powertrain sports platform is also a response to how EV demand has unfolded in practice. Porsche has already signaled that it is willing to develop combustion versions of models that were initially conceived as electric, reflecting a more cautious read of the market than the early rush toward full electrification. In a candid assessment of its approach, Porsche has embraced a flexible strategy in which EVs could spawn combustion models, allowing lines like the 718 to offer petrol variants alongside newer electric versions.
Sports-car buyers in particular tend to be more sensitive to emotional factors such as engine sound, manual gearboxes, and long-distance usability, which can make them slower to adopt full electric power than SUV or sedan customers. By keeping combustion options alive on an EV-derived platform, Porsche is effectively hedging its bets, ensuring that enthusiasts who still want a petrol-powered weekend car are not forced to leave the brand. At the same time, the company can continue to grow its electric share among customers who prioritize instant torque and lower emissions, all within the same model family.
A broader pivot: ICE and PHEV still central to Porsche’s lineup
The 718 story is not an isolated case, it is part of a wider pivot in which Porsche has reconsidered some of its most ambitious EV plans. In a major product update, the company confirmed that it would launch a large crossover as an internal combustion and plug-in hybrid model rather than as a pure EV, a decision that underlines how important petrol and hybrid powertrains remain to its business. That shift was framed as Porsche tearing up parts of its future EV roadmap, with Porsche explicitly highlighting ICE and PHEV as key elements of its updated strategy.
Seen through that lens, the decision to let an electric sports platform support combustion power looks less like a one-off experiment and more like a template. If a large crossover can pivot from a planned EV to ICE and PHEV, and a compact sports car can host both batteries and petrol engines, then Porsche is effectively building a portfolio in which every major segment has multiple technological paths. That approach may be less tidy than a pure EV timeline, but it gives the brand resilience in the face of regulatory uncertainty and uneven charging infrastructure across its global markets.
Engineering trade-offs: weight, packaging, and driving character
Turning an EV-first platform into a dual-powertrain base inevitably involves compromises, and the 718 project illustrates those trade-offs. Electric versions benefit from the low center of gravity and instant torque that the PPE Sport layout was designed to deliver, while combustion variants need space for an engine, gearbox, exhaust, and fuel tank that can add complexity and weight in different places. Adapting the structure so it can handle both configurations without losing the agility that defines a 718 is a delicate balancing act for the engineers working on Porsche sports cars.
There is also the question of how to preserve distinct driving characters within a shared architecture. An electric 718 on PPE Sport is likely to feel planted and quiet, with its performance defined by battery capacity and motor output, while a petrol version will live or die by throttle response, gear ratios, and the way its engine revs. By reengineering the stressed battery and flat floor of If the PPE Sport platform to accommodate both, Porsche is betting that it can deliver two very different experiences without forcing customers to accept a compromised middle ground.
What this means for enthusiasts and the wider industry
For enthusiasts, the prospect of an electric sports platform that still supports gas engines is both reassuring and intriguing. It suggests that the soundtrack and mechanical engagement of a traditional 718 will not vanish overnight, even as electric versions arrive on the same showroom floor. At the same time, the coexistence of EV and petrol variants on a shared architecture could make it easier for buyers to cross-shop within the brand, comparing an electric coupe to a combustion roadster built on the same basic bones and deciding which flavor of performance suits them best.
For the wider industry, Porsche’s approach offers a case study in how legacy performance brands can navigate the messy middle of the transition to electric power. By reworking the PPE Sport platform at Achieving a dual-powertrain capability, and by embedding flexibility into its broader product strategy through Porsche AG, the company is signaling that the future of sports cars will not be a simple binary choice between batteries and fuel. Instead, it is building a world in which both can coexist on the same platform, at least for the medium term, giving drivers and regulators time to decide how quickly they really want to leave combustion behind.
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