Porsche resurrects “718” for 2017 Boxster and Cayman

Unless you’re a certified Porsche maniac à la Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Hammond or Magnus Walker, chances are the number 718 won’t impress you all that much. Still, that hasn’t stopped Porsche from attaching them to the next generation of the Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe.

Thus, the two entry-level Porsche sports cars will be sharing the same body type code as the four-cylinder, 142 horsepower 718 racer that dominated its category at the 1958 24 Heures du Mans endurance race. It also took the laurels at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring and the European Hillclimb championship between 1958 and 1961.

So, not one to forget its racing heritage, Porsche has decided to bestow those legendary numbers on two of its popular sports cars for the 2017 model year.

The two cars, set to be revealed sometime in 2016 will reportedly maintain some visual cues that recall the old car, as well as all-new turbocharged flat-four engines.