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Porsche looks set to fit a Volkswagen-sourced four-cylinder engine to its Boxster roadster and its hard-top Cayman twin.
While the German sports car specialist has not officially confirmed that a four-cylinder engine will be fitted to its two-seaters, insiders suggest it’s more than likely, backing up comments from a Porsche board member this week.
The move would reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in line with Porsche's push to reduce its environmental footprint.
Recently updated versions of the Boxster/Cayman and legendary 911 brought new horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engines with a direct injection system that reduced fuel use by up to 13 per cent.
Speaking at the launch of the Panorama - a four-door sports hatch that gives Porsche the biggest, most expansive model range ever - board member Klaus Berning hinted that more economical versions of the Boxster and Cayman were on the way.
“Clearly there is a trend to downsizing,” he said. “We have to do everything possible within the brand limits to lower CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. [A four-cylinder] brings a lot of efficiency, so I will not exclude that, but if you ask me did we already decide one, no.”
Perhaps most telling is Berning’s comment when quizzed about the four-cylinder.
“Never say never,” he said.
Given Porsche repeatedly denied it would ever sell a diesel vehicle before this year releasing the Cayenne diesel, it suggests a four-cylinder Boxster/Cayman is more than just a wish.
Four-cylinder engines are nothing new to Porsche, which most fitted a large capacity one (3.0 litres) to the 968 of the 1990s. Before that, there was the 944, among others.
Berning said the engine could be one shared with another brand, likely one sourced from the Volkswagen Group with which it has a technical collaboration. It would likely use a turbocharger as used on the Volkswagen Golf GTI and other vehicles from the Volkswagen/Audi family
But he said the 911 would always use exclusively Porsche engines.
“911 we know needs Porsche engines,” he said. “911 is the core of the brand and follows different rules to the rest (of the Porsche range).”
“I do not know whether Boxster and Cayman customers would accept [a non-Porsche engine], but from my experience it is more likely that they would.”
Berning said Porsche would also look at other models. There are now four core models; Boxster/Cayman, 911, Panamera and Cayenne off-roader, each with up to 13 variants in its model spread.
However, he ruled out a revival of the classic Speedster, which could form a purpose built drop-top aimed at providing affordable sports performance below the entry price of the $113,000 Boxster and $122,200 (plus on-road costs) Cayman.
“Everybody is asking me about a small Speedster. Forget it, there is no business case in a small speedster,” he said emphatically.
“With the Boxster, Cayman …. we have the cars that bring people to the brand. Cayenne brings a lot of people (to the brand).”
He said the investigations of a fifth model line would begin once the Panamera went on sale.
“We are going to tackle that problem starting October 2009. We will start again … do we need a fifth model line? My gut feeling … I don’t think we need one.”
Porsche has also been questioned on whether it would build another supercar in the same vein as the V10-powered Carrera GT.
Berning did not rule it out but pointed out the car would have to be profitable to ensure Porsche’s balance sheet was healthy.
“We cannot afford to put a car out there that doesn’t make money.”
