STUD OR DUD? Porsche Teases 718 Flashback Roadster - Should We Color You Impressed?

Hot on the heels of the announcement that the revamped Porsche Boxster and Cayman will resurrect the 718 name, Porsche has dropped a new video teasing its upcoming sports cars.

It shows the legendary Porsche 718 in action both from its successful racing days of the late 1950s and early 1960s, as well as the present. Having won a plethora of famous races, including a class victory at the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans in 718 RSK guise, the importance of the vehicle in Porsche's history is undeniable.

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TauronB2G - 12/14/2015 4:30:27 PM

+2 Boost

Sounds like poor timing to me. They should have renamed it when they redesigned it. Now it's the same Boxster/Cayman with a new name.

MDarringer - 12/14/2015 7:15:19 PM

+1 Boost

Even among Porsche fanatics, "718" means nothing. LOL arguably 912 or 914 would have better. This is beyond stupid on Porsche's part. The Cayman and Boxster are well established. "718" add NOTHING.

mini22 - 12/15/2015 12:41:41 AM

+2 Boost

Actually this is a salvage job. Originally VAG was going to due a mid-engine smaller sports car with a platform shared between Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche. It was going to smaller than the Boxster/Cayman and was going to be called the 718. But then VAG pulled the plug on this. Porsche had already developed the engines so they thought why not just apply it to the Boxster and Cayman and call them the 718. Perhaps in hindsight it might have been better if Porsche had just left the models alone. However I am thinking that Porsche is trying to figure out a better way to generate more sales for these models. Or perhaps they are concerned that a 4 cylinder turbo won't fly hence make the historical connection to the 718.

MDarringer - 12/15/2015 8:49:36 AM

+1 Boost

Porsche desperately needs a new 914 if anything. A small, mid-engined, no-frills sportster for a base of $35K would fly out the door. GTI engine, tranny, suspension pieces make it cheap to engineer.

carloslassiter - 12/15/2015 11:49:54 PM

+2 Boost

A 35K Porsche would cannibalize the heck out of sales of the more expensive models and brings the brand image down into the Miata range. Hardly seems like a smart strategy to me.