In the U.S., the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman live in the shadow of the 911. It's tough to draw a direct comparison in sales numbers, but typically, Porsche sells a good bit more 911s here than 718s. In China, though, the 718 does much better. And its success there is critical to the health of Porsche's mid-engine sports cars.

"I have to say without China, the whole model line would not exist," Porsche sports-car head Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser told Road & Track at the L.A. Auto Show. A big part of the 718's popularity in China is its base 2.0-liter four-cylinder. In China, cars are taxed by engine displacement, so a 2.0-liter car is quite a bit cheaper than a 2.5-liter car. That makes a base 718 a lot more appealing than a 2.5-liter 718 S, or a 3.0-liter 911 Carrera.

In the U.S., things will soon be different. Dr. Walliser expects demand for the flat-six-powered 718 Cayman GT4 and Spyder to be greater than all the flat-four cars. In Europe, the split between four- and six-cylinder 718s should be closer to 50:50. Dr. Walliser said customers are split pretty evenly between the 718 Cayman GT4 and Spyder. And that's not bad news for the GT4. "I would not say that the number of GT4 goes down just the number of Spyders increases," he told R&T.

I expressed surprise that the most expensive 718s were seeing such great demand. "Is it the most expensive 718 or is it a very good bargain for a Porsche sports car?" Dr. Walliser asked. "The customers have decided. They say it's a very good bargain for a Porsche sports car."

To his credit, the 718 GT4 and Spyder cost about as much as a base 911 Carrera, and you can't get one of those with a naturally aspirated six or a manual.

We also talked about the possibility of an electric 718—a rumor that's floated around for a few years now. Dr. Walliser said an electric Porsche sports car is an inevitability, but there's a question of when. "I cannot tell you at the moment when is the right time to do it, which components, how will the car look like," he said. "Considering what I said about China, it's definitely a topic. There, things are moving quicker but different."

The next generation Macan will go electric, but that car will live alongside an internal-combustion version too. I asked Dr. Walliser if this was a possibility with the 718. "Could be one answer to say, 'Okay, we do one a fully electric and one is a combustion engine,' instead of doing something in between where the cars are not convincing," he said.

In the meantime, the current 982-generation of 718 Boxster and Cayman have a few years of life left. They'll be freshened with new model variants, like the coming-to-America 718 T, and an eventual PDK-equipped GT4, but Dr. Walliser said there's no plan on going further upmarket. At that point, the 718 could start to eat into the 911's market.

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