Think naturally-aspirated flat-six engines in Porsche’s smaller Boxster and Cayman models are the bee’s knees? Stuttgart had better batten down the hatches, then, as it has confirmed that future versions of these cars will receive turbocharged four-cylinder engines as early as next year.
According to Automotive News, CEO Matthias Müller has said that Porsche will begin selling flat-four cars in the United States in mid-2016, over 20 years since they last sold a four-banger there in a 968.
“First of all, we will have it in the Boxster and Cayman successor,” he said. “And then we will see how it works and how successful it is and how the customers will react on that, and then we will take the next decisions.”
Müller himself said last year that the flat-fours were coming, and Porsche executives have reportedly confirmed that the engines will appear in the facelifted Boxster and Cayman.
Technical details remain sparse, but the flat-fours are expected to be turbocharged and will be available in both 2.0 litre and 2.5 litre displacements. Apart from lowering weight – which should improve both fuel efficiency and handling – the engines could produce as much as 400 PS, as Müller previously suggested.
When they arrive, the four-pot Boxster and Cayman will join the Macan, which has a turbocharged 2.0 litre inline-four producing 237 PS from 5,000 to 6,800 rpm and 350 Nm from 1,500 to 4,500 rpm.
981 Porsche Boxster S 3.4 PDK
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Gotta love boxer engines. Low centre of gravity & short engine block (to allow a more neutral weight distribution). All recipee for fun. Just ask any Subaru WRX drivers. Good news too for countries where road tax is computed by engine capacity & emissions. If they put this in the Macan as well, then people can stop complaining that a Porsche is sharing engine with a Golf GTI.
You not buying Iriz? The Proton cronies gonna beg for more money from government to get their Porsche.
One way or other, you are subsidizing them.
If not for the strict emission law, Porsche would have still kept on with their famous in-line 6 instead of boring 4 cylinders with turbocharge technology.
It’s like taking the fun factor out of the driving experience.
It will be a shame to see a four-pot in a Porsche sports car. A shame indeed as the flat six produces a very distinctive and mechanical thob-thob-thob throbbing sound that I have not heard successfully reproduced in a flat-four like the WRX or the old Alfa boxer engines.
“Famous inline 6” Hahahahahahaha. Since when?