The smaller Boxster you are referring to jacabean is the baby Boxster or( the New 356 as it is called internally at Porsche) it will share the same mid-engine platformW/ the new VW Bluesport and the new Audi R4 rumor is that Porsche is developing a horizontally opposed 4-cylinder Turbo 2.0L engine producing 250-300hp. for the car.

The new 356 will be smaller and lighter then the 987 cost less, around $ 40,000 it is ment to undercut the base Boxster/Caman and will be on sale sometime in 2012 and it will still be called a Boxster. :cheers:

Sounds like a mistake to me, just as if they'd called the original Boxster a 911 - which would have further insulted the 911 crowd. Insulting the Boxster crowd - now that would really be pissing in their own soup.

The smaller Boxster will still have a Boxster engine it will just be a 4-cyl. turbo instead of a 6-cyl. engine.

Like I've been saying, as long as there's an actual boxer engine in the Boxster, even if it's a flat 4, I'm ok with that...cause it continues to make sense.

From Automobile magazine:

"VW Blue Sport, Audi R5, Porsche 550. The Porsche version will be positioned under the Boxster/Cayman and will be powered by a four-cylinder boxer engine, likely a turbocharged 1.9-liter good for some 210 hp and 215 lb-ft of torque. Audi will likely use a five-cylinder and shoot for a (higher) price somewhere between that of the TT and the R8. The VW version will almost certainly use a 180-hp four-cylinder and will incorporate parts from mainstream VWs in an effort to keep the costs down.

Next Boxster/Cayman/911 (2018/19). The current Cayman/Boxster, due in 2011 and 2012, won't be part of the MSS program but may be integrated to some degree during the mid-cycle refreshing in 2016.

High-end Porsche sports car to be positioned between the 911 and the upcoming 918, internally dubbed New V8 GT. This is the hottest project the Weissach wizards currently have up their sleeves. It could have much in common with the next R8 and Gallardo."

I suspect they will not use the boxster
 

name for the smaller car. It seems they are abandoning the numbering system (save the 911) across the product line except for the internal project codes. I am okay with the boxster gaining more power but I would think between 320-350 hp would be about all the car needs. I am more interested in the car either loosing weight or gaining no more weight (and size) than it currently had. All car companies seem to do this as models progress (look at an 80's camry compared to a new one) until the model becomes just a remnant of what it was originally designed for. If they are going to drive the boxster up market, I would like to see more use of aluminum to save weight as I doubt people are going to give up the navigation systems, and luxury options that are driving the weight up in these cars. As far as the baby boxster...I think it is a brilliant idea and fully support it especially if the weight is really low and they use the flat four. Some people see the 924-944-968 series as a dark moment in porsche history...anybody who has owned one will tell you they were some of the best "driver's" cars the company has made and it seems they may be poised to do it again. I hope the styling is differentiated enough from the boxster that each model can exist and have appeal on it's own.

In reference to what I bolded from your post, papasmurf, I agree that it would be great to see cars lose pounds rather than the inevitable gaining that seems to be the trend. While a good amount of it has to do with all the powered equipment, heated this-and-that, navigation, etc., weight gains can also be attributed to demands (both federally and consumer driven) for increased safety, anything from beefing up frames to putting in enough airbags to turn your cabin into a moonbounce. I'm all for added safety, but we've yet to learn how to defy physics and successfully add mass to cars without losing fuel efficiency.

Just speaking broadly here, if we're increasing the weight and decreasing the engine displacement in an effort to sip gas and make the car safer with more features and creature comforts, unfortunately the efficiency is going to just break even or only slightly increase, as we've seen. Just imagine if the M3 didn't weigh 3500 or so pounds. Even in that state it's an exceptional car, but if they were able to lighten it up it'd perform even better and even be more efficient...not that anyone's buying one for that latter reason, but it would be a benefit nevertheless.

You can really see the body work details in the latest shots. I like the way the front and rear fenders rise slightly after the doors. Unfortunately, it's a bigger car. Who wants that?

http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1030927_spy-shots-2012-porsche-boxster

New Models
 

A co-branded version of the 914 like they did before when the 914 was sold in Germany as a VW? Can the return of the 912 be far behind?

I was so hoping the styling of the 2012 would be a complete redesign. They had an artist's rendering of something far more Carrera GT-like than those spy pictures, and that was what I was anxious to see.

You know, they might just bring out a less expensive all-new mode below the boxster that looks like a baby CGT with a turbocharged four banger in it. Boxsters are not really "entry level" in pricing.

As they said on Top Gear, Porsche have the laziest designers.