New Porsche 4-cyl engines to range from 1.6L to 2.5L
Mon, 02 Jun 2014Recent rumors of a turbocharged, flat-four-engine from Porsche for the Boxster (pictured testing above), Cayman and maybe other models go back over a year. The latest scuttlebutt indicates that there could be three variants on the horizon with 1.6-, 2.0- and 2.5-liter displacements and power as high as 360 horsepower.
Car magazine in the UK claims to have access to the specifications for the project and thinks the 2.0- and 2.5-liter versions are guaranteed for production for the Boxster and Cayman. However, it believes a question mark still looms over the 210-hp 1.6L because the engine would go into a new, smaller sports car that still doesn't have a green light for production.
Regardless of displacement, the new fours would be turbocharged and direct-injected. The 2.0-liter would produce around 286 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque, and the 2.5-liter would make about 360 hp and 347 lb-ft. Earlier reports pegged some parts sharing with the current flat-six.
From a marketing standpoint, the flat-fours could be an easy sell. Porsche started out with four-cylinders in the 356, 912 and additional models, not to mention the inline-fours in the 944 and others. Remember, even its latest 919 Hybrid endurance racer uses a V4. The company isn't officially confirming the flat-four yet, though. "We don't comment on future product speculation," said Porsche spokesperson Nick Twork to Autoblog.
By Chris Bruce
See also: 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS, Porsche inspecting 2,500 Euro-spec Macans for damaged brake boosters, Porsche testing new 911 GTS.