AutoSnipes Journal / September 11, 2026

Used 718 Caymans Are Asking 911 Carrera T Money — Last ICE Tax Is Real

HotCars’ CarGurus snapshot puts used 718 Cayman averages near ~$149k (Boxster ~$161k+) as ICE order books stay closed and the electric 718 slips toward 2027. AutoSnipes maps the buyer grid — GTS 4.0 vs GT4 RS vs honest S — and the risk if Porsche hedges combustion back into the mid-engine car.

Used 718 Caymans Are Asking 911 Carrera T Money — Last ICE Tax Is Real

Outgoing combustion 718s are repricing like end-of-era cars. HotCars’ CarGurus snapshot puts Cayman averages near Carrera T money; Hagerty confirmed the order books are closed. AutoSnipes maps which VIN/spec to hunt — and what happens if Porsche hedges ICE back into the next mid-engine car.

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The price table (reported, not invented)

HotCars’ August 17, 2026 market piece is the cleanest public receipt for the inversion: used 718s asking money that used to buy a new 911 Carrera T. Soft-phrase every figure as reported by named sources — snapshots, not AutoSnipes audited comps.

| Model / trim (as covered) | Reported figure | Source attribution |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 718 Cayman (avg transaction) | Hovering around $149,000; up >7% in 30 days, >8% over 90 days | HotCars citing CarGurus |
| 718 Boxster (avg) | Trending above $161,000 | HotCars citing CarGurus |
| 2025 GTS 4.0 (KBB private-party) | Roughly $117,000–$124,000 vs original sticker around $102,000 | HotCars citing Kelley Blue Book |
| 2025 Cayman GT4 RS | Fair-condition around $184,000; concours units clearing $200,000; recently soft ~2% | HotCars |
| 2025 Cayman S | Fair ~$92,000 to concours ~$117,000; climbing 2–5% since late prior year | HotCars |
| Worldwide 718 deliveries | Down 73% in H1 2026 as production wound down | HotCars |
| Value retention (Cayman) | iSeeCars 9.9 / 10 (second only to 911 Coupe among Porsches in that ranking) | HotCars citing iSeeCars |

Averages mix years, miles, and option stacks. A PDK base with sunroof miles is not a GTS 4.0 manual with a window sticker. The signal is supply collapse meeting last-call demand — not a guarantee your local listing is correctly priced.

Hagerty’s September 2, 2025 confirmation that order books for the current ICE 718 are closed is the supply-side match. EU cybersecurity rules had already ended ICE 718 (and ICE Macan) sales in Europe. Hagerty’s Atlanta-area dealer check still found at least 15 new 718s then — turbo-four Boxster manual around $90,475 to Spyder RS near $221,960. That was the last-inventory window. Today’s used market is what happens after it stops refilling.

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Why the last-ICE tax is real

1. Production and order-book death. Hagerty (via Autocar) stamped what enthusiasts felt: no more new ICE Boxster/Cayman slots. HotCars’ 73% worldwide delivery drop in H1 2026 is a line winding down, not a soft month.

2. EV delay FOMO. Porsche once promised an all-electric 718 by mid-decade. HotCars notes battery-supplier drama (Northvolt’s bankruptcy), schedule slips, and leadership review of the EV program. Autoevolution’s spy coverage still frames 2027 production — PPE Sport thinking, stacked mid-mounted battery, 800-volt tech, expected range north of 300 miles in efficient specs — but camo shots are not dealer inventory. Every month the EV stays a prototype, the last flat-six and turbo-four 718s look like the only mid-engine Porsche you can buy and drive.

3. Last-call playbook. HotCars leans on the Challenger/Charger Last Call parallel: when combustion exits and the EV replacement is late or unloved, buyers pay for the present. That is how last-call sports cars price when supply collapses faster than demand cools.

The GTS 4.0 is the emotional center — NA flat-six, mid-engine, the daily-usable trim enthusiasts always argued was purest. HotCars’ KBB band above original sticker is the market agreeing. GT4 RS stays the volatile halo: still six-figure fair/concours territory in that coverage, with recent softness that should keep flippers honest.

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AutoSnipes buyer grid: which 718 to hunt

Spec and paper beat vibes.

| Priority | What to hunt | Why | Walk-away triggers |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A — Driver apex | GTS 4.0, preferably manual, clean Carfax, under ~15k miles, window sticker | Last-call NA six; HotCars’ KBB band shows the premium is live | Undisclosed track days; PDK asks at GTS money; missing service file |
| B — Halo / capsule | GT4 RS / Spyder RS, delivery-mile or sub-5k, carbon + docs | Scarcity + RS tax; HotCars fair/concours bands = ceiling language | Unexplained relists; “concours” ask with chips and no PPF story |
| C — Value mid-engine | Cayman S / Boxster S or optioned base with manual, honest miles | Still mid-engine Porsche; HotCars shows S climbing | Anchoring to ~$149k Cayman average for a base four with 40k miles |
| D — Skip as “investment” | High-mile PDK bases priced like lottery tickets | Delivery collapse ≠ every VIN is collectible | Asks citing HotCars averages without matching trim/miles |

Build tells: trim clarity (GTS/GT ≠ turbo-four), transmission (manual premium = demand pattern, not a guaranteed multiple), resale-surviving options (Sport Chrono, PSE, seats, color, PPF), and paper (sticker, dealer service, clean title). Filter private-party like BaT commenters: miles band first, trim second, ask third. If a seller opens with “HotCars said Caymans average $149k,” ask which year, trim, and miles.

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Risk: what if Porsche hedges ICE back in?

Price this before you wire a deposit. HotCars summarizes the hedge: Autocar reported Weissach sources saying the EV 718 platform was being reworked for a mid-mounted gas engine, while CEO Michael Leiters (Frankfurter Allgemeine, as HotCars relays) still framed the electric 718 as economically the plan — dual-fuel flexibility as insurance. Autoevolution still points at 2027 electric production, not showroom ICE replacements tomorrow.

If Porsche commits to next-gen combustion (or meaningful ICE above the EV), used premiums can soften. Last-call math only works while “last” stays credible. Museum-piece PDK Cayman S buyers feel that first; GTS/GT4 RS drivers still own the car they wanted — the spreadsheet just gets less flattering.

If this generation stays the last NA mid-engine Porsche in this form, HotCars’ framing holds: today’s GTS/GT4 RS deals may look cheap later. AutoSnipes will not pretend we know which timeline wins. Watch product updates the same way we watch BaT hammers — receipts, not vibes.

Practical hedge: buy the driver you want at a price that still works if an ICE successor is announced. Do not buy a fantasy that only pays if Porsche never builds another flat-six mid-engine car.

Watchlist while you wait: trim-matched asks vs HotCars’ CarGurus averages; manual vs PDK spreads on GTS 4.0; GT4 RS softness vs GTS strength; revisit the thesis the week Porsche clarifies ICE/EV mix.

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AutoSnipes CTA

We are not inventing 718 values. We are building the buyer grid: which cars to hunt (GTS 4.0 / GT / honest S), which asks are last-ICE tax vs seller cosplay, and what to do if Porsche hedges combustion back in.

Search AutoSnipes for 718 Cayman and Boxster. Filter by trim, transmission, and miles band. Upload the window sticker and service file if you are listing — then ask in the band your car lives in, not the band HotCars printed for the whole model line.

Last ICE is a market condition. Carrera T money is a reported average. Know which one you are paying for before you hit send.

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Sources