Porsche Recalls 718 Cayman and Boxster Due to Potentially Obstructed Center Brake Light

You can still get a six-pot boxer as long as you're prepared to pony up top dollar, namely $95,200 in the Cayman's case or $97,300 for the Boxster. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by the German automaker, both four- and six-cylinder models have been hit with a recall over the incorrect coding of the so-called rear vehicle electronics unit.

The control unit responsible for the rear spoiler may have been incorrectly coded to deploy said rear spoiler too high, thus reducing the visibility of the center brake light. Porsche further claims that aerodynamics and driving dynamics may be affected as well. That said, who is to blame for this relatively small problem? Porsche says a single employee is, an employee who coded the wrong values into the rear vehicle electronics control unit after the vehicles were produced with the proper code.

Only a small number of vehicles received the wrong values, namely 53 vehicles produced for the 2023 and 2024 model years between June 23 and September 5. Recalled versions include the four-cylinder 718 Boxster S, six-cylinder 718 Boxster GTS 4.0, and coupe-bodied 718 Cayman GTS 4.0.

The 718 is currently manufactured at Porsche's assembly plant in Zuffenhausen and at Volkswagen's assembly plant in Osnabruck. The latter is phasing out 718 production as we speak, for the 911's mid-engine brother will be discontinued sometime in 2024 in favor of an electric sports car.

More on that later, though. Come December 20, dealers nationwide will be instructed to reflash the rear vehicle electronics control unit with the serial coding version. As for 718 owners, Porsche intends to inform them via first-class mail no later than February 2. In the meantime, owners can verify whether their cars are recalled or not by running the 17-character VIN on the NHTSA's website.

That being said, the 718 will morph into an electric sports car next year due to a number of reasons. From carbon emissions to fuel economy requirements and the near-instant torque of an electric powertrain, it does make sense for Porsche to drop the combustion-engined 718 in favor of an electric successor.

Spied on numerous occasions with a Taycan-inspired front end, the zero-emission model is expected with both single- and bi-motor configurations. Depending on the newcomer's weight distribution, the rear-wheel-drive version may be the one to have from the standpoint of driving dynamics.

In the meantime, the RWD-exclusive 718 is available in a grand total of 10 versions. The list kicks off with the 2.0-liter 718 Cayman, which carries a sticker price of $68,300 in the United States of America. At the other end of the spectrum, the 718 Cayman GT4 RS and open-top 718 Spyder RS are $160,700.