2011 Boxster will have 4-cyl

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by MikeBat

I will believe that when Porsche official announces it.

Agreed, I won't be holding my breath. It would be nice to see a much lighter, 4-cylinder car, but now that the Elise, Miata and Solstice/Sky are crowding both ends of that market, I don't see how it would compete. And you know Porsche wouldn't tolerate a British car costing more than theirs so it would have to be pricey too, like over US$45k.

[FrayAdjacent]

Guys, you gotta realize, this kind of move is being FORCED on Porsche. Fuel economy standards are being pushed on auto manufacturers, and face it, Porsche does NOT do economy cars. It would be very hard for Porsche to comply using just their flat six engines. Sure, they have made great advances... direct injection and other schemes DO help fuel economy.

Given I can get 31mpg highway, and average about 26mpg for my commuting in my 2.7l Boxster, I'd venture with a ~2.0l turbocharged engine, that would probably be closer to 35-38mpg highway, and 30mpg average. Not too shabby. And a turbocharged 4 would leave room for tuning. Yes, I know Porsche would already have a very well tuned engine, but if economy and meeting such standards was a priority, they may have to leave the engines detuned a little to meet those standards. Then we can tune them for more, standards be damned!

I also wonder if Porsche will look at diesel engines... a diesel 4 banger making ~150 horses and 300+lb torque would be pretty interesting!

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by FrayAdjacent

Guys, you gotta realize, this kind of move is being FORCED on Porsche. Fuel economy standards are being pushed on auto manufacturers, and face it, Porsche does NOT do economy cars. It would be very hard for Porsche to comply using just their flat six engines. Sure, they have made great advances... direct injection and other schemes DO help fuel economy.

Given I can get 31mpg highway, and average about 26mpg for my commuting in my 2.7l Boxster, I'd venture with a ~2.0l turbocharged engine, that would probably be closer to 35-38mpg highway, and 30mpg average. Not too shabby. And a turbocharged 4 would leave room for tuning. Yes, I know Porsche would already have a very well tuned engine, but if economy and meeting such standards was a priority, they may have to leave the engines detuned a little to meet those standards. Then we can tune them for more, standards be damned!

I also wonder if Porsche will look at diesel engines... a diesel 4 banger making ~150 horses and 300+lb torque would be pretty interesting!

The regulations may not apply to Porsche. There is a minimum in volume sales that have to be met to fall under this law. This is how Ferrari, Lamborghini and others that get 16 on the highway can still sell cars. I'm not sure but I bet these rules also apply to subsidiaries like Jaguar and Aston Martin.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/new-cafe-standards-could-exempt-porsche.html

[tamarsha]

Originally Posted by FrayAdjacent

Guys, you gotta realize, this kind of move is being FORCED on Porsche. Fuel economy standards are being pushed on auto manufacturers, and face it, Porsche does NOT do economy cars. It would be very hard for Porsche to comply using just their flat six engines. Sure, they have made great advances... direct injection and other schemes DO help fuel economy.

Given I can get 31mpg highway, and average about 26mpg for my commuting in my 2.7l Boxster, I'd venture with a ~2.0l turbocharged engine, that would probably be closer to 35-38mpg highway, and 30mpg average. Not too shabby. And a turbocharged 4 would leave room for tuning. Yes, I know Porsche would already have a very well tuned engine, but if economy and meeting such standards was a priority, they may have to leave the engines detuned a little to meet those standards. Then we can tune them for more, standards be damned!

I also wonder if Porsche will look at diesel engines... a diesel 4 banger making ~150 horses and 300+lb torque would be pretty interesting!

Yet another reason why Porsche is getting back in bed with VW. When the government looks at the fuel economy across the whole family of vehicles it is easier to get away with a gas guzzling 911 when a Golf TDI is balancing things out.

With the way Porsche has been releasing a new version of the 911 every other month, I think we are going to see a 320 HP direct injection Boxster with PDK before we see four banger.

[Paul]

I believe taxes/fees on cars in Europe are based on the displacement of the motor, so a smaller motor will be more economical to own.

201 seems like a tame target for a modern Turbo 4, I'm inclined to believe the millage targets are going to be important. My friend works for Hyundai and says many manufacturers are going back to Turbo technology.

[bbbradley]

As a Miata owner who has seen what a turboed Miata (200+ RWHP and just over 2,000 lbs) can do I have no reason to dismiss a 4-banger Boxster. As has been mentioned before, the Subie boxer engine can push some HP to the tarmac.

Numbers are too often misleading without looking at the whole picture.

[djomlas]

yeah i dont buy it...