Next Boxster Mill 4 cylinder?

[wild1poet2]

That link is guessing for 2016 MY. So maybe by then 350hp will seem modest.

The original Boxster 6 was of 2.5L displacement.

I'm not thrilled with the idea.

[Overdrive]

2.5 for a six cylinder is really on the small side of displacement. These days you find more often that there are 4 cylinders up to that displacement, it's sort of that threshold where one can either make a big 4 or a small 6 (Mazda3s now have 2.5 fours, used to be a 2.3). I don't see anything wrong with using the same displacement with two fewer cylinders and some forced induction...so long as it sounds right.

I'm sure that for right now they're going to stick with what's there and wait until the last possible minute to introduce new style engines to meet regulations. Too much money has been invested in the engines already out there and improving upon them in what's coming up on 15 years. Since things always sort of trickle down from flagship cars, I figure the same will happen for the Boxster unless they decide to pull a little from VW here, a little from Audi there, which I'm sure is very likely for anything that's not a 911. The only thing I'm hoping they don't do is try to put an inline TSI engine from a GTI in the car and still call it a Boxster.

[ekam]

Flat 6 is naturally balanced. Won't have the smoothness nor the same song in a 4-cyl turbo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_balance

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by ekam

Flat 6 is naturally balanced. Won't have the smoothness nor the same song in a 4-cyl turbo.

porsche knows that it's not just the engine sound, or the engine balance, or the lines of the car, or the balance of the car, or the big headlights, or the steering response, etc. that makes a porsche a porsche. every time porsche has introduced something new the crowed claimed it was the end of porsche but somehow it all worked out.

now, will porsche with added fahrvergnügen be able to continue that? who knows. as long as vw lets porsche keep doing what it does best, it should turn out okay.

[ekam]

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

now, will porsche with added fahrvergnügen be able to continue that? who knows. as long as vw lets porsche keep doing what it does best, it should turn out okay.

Sad truth is they're forced to make "improvements" due to increased government regulation on safety and fuel economy.

Fortunately they do have one of the world's best marketing department so it's all going to work out in terms of sales.

Now where's my flying car?

[pothole]

Personally, I think a turbo four would be awful.

It won't sound right and it won't go right. You often read about such and such new turbo engine being lag free. But I driven enough of the latest turbo engines, including the new BMW 1M, to know it's bollocks.

The problem isn't so much as the time delay, which is admittedly getting pretty small, it's the way the boost swells the torque. It spoils the power delivery and disconnects you from the car - it feels like the car is driving itself.

I've been buzzing around in the latest MINI Cooper S the last few days and it's crap. Much boostier than I was expecting. Reviews routinely gloss over this kind of thing. The old supercharged model was much nicer.

Put simply, turbos blow (F40 is exception that proves the rule!)

[ekam]

Originally Posted by pothole

Put simply, turbos blow (F40 is exception that proves the rule!)

http://www.evo.co.uk/videos/supercarvideos/267334/ferrari_f40_v_porsche_gt2_rs_v_noble_m600_v_jaguar _xj220_video.html

[fatmike]

Originally Posted by pothole

Personally, I think a turbo four would be awful.

It won't sound right and it won't go right. You often read about such and such new turbo engine being lag free. But I driven enough of the latest turbo engines, including the new BMW 1M, to know it's bollocks.

The problem isn't so much as the time delay, which is admittedly getting pretty small, it's the way the boost swells the torque. It spoils the power delivery and disconnects you from the car - it feels like the car is driving itself.

Yep. The BMW engines are "lag free", but I feel that it's the throttle response that suffers. The Boxster's throttle is quick and precise. If you are in a corner, you can drive the car on the throttle and feel every minor change in the throttle through the steering wheel and pedal. The BMW throttle is more like a light switch, either on or off. If you try to take a corner in 2nd gear at 5K RPM, you'll find yourself overcooking it...backing off too much...over cooking it...ugggh.


Also, I found the BMW turbo to be a very "lazy" engine (or I became a lazy driver when driving it). I always seemed to be in the wrong gear @ 1700 RPMs -- and it never really mattered because the car had so much torque. With the Boxster, I always seem to be @ 3K+ RPMs and the car and driver are much happier...





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