Black51

I just got this email today.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/au...ter_spied.html

I found it most interesting the part near the end about a new 2.5 turbocharged flat four. Hmmm... I wonder if that may also be the engine to soon bring back the legendary and our beloved 951 sporting some new looks.... Hopefully not just with a 911 nose bolted on though.

CyCloNe!

Nice Boxster... i must say they are starting to give the Boxster some great details. I was never a fan of the early models but this one looks great... Also like you said it will be interesting to see a 2.5 turbo and what the specs maybe. Who knows after Porsche has seen how the 951 has been modded and reaching respectable numbers, 325-400 crank +hp, they might be inspired to make that 2.5 pretty beefy.

Black51

Especially considering it's a flat four. No need for balance shafts and what not. I can see some pretty impressive numbers from a power plant like that. Hopefully it would once again hold the title as the most powerful 4 cylinder in the world.

gt37vgt

i think its not 951esc unless it has a torque tube..

Chris White

Its a really short torque tube....

Chris White

That would be interesting….but it still seems to make more sense to utilize the basic architecture of the VW 1.8t. With the current ownership that would make a lot more sense for an ‘entry level’ boxster.

onspeed

I don't see any place in their current lineup for a 2.5L turbo motor. It'd probably be producing something in the range of 300hp... they've got V6s and Flat 6's already occupying that power range.. No point in spending money and time in R/D for that. Plus, replacing either NA with Turbo would probably result in slower performance times.

Now ROW Evo's are at around 400hp if I'm not mistaken. Still no place in Porsche's lineup for a 400hp 4cyl turbo. Boxster Turbo? That would certainly bring back the 80s era where the entry level was faster than the 911s... just not a smart financial move I think, especially for a low demand car manufacture.

I question the credibility of that article.

And as Jeremy Clarkson pointed out, it's still hard to tell the front of that car from the back, ha.

V2Rocket

many car companies are presently losing cylinders, adding turbos and in some cases adding direct injection in the name of fuel economy (standards).

a DI turbo 4 is almost certain to give better MPG than a V6 of similar power. the same logic goes for a DI twin-turbo v6 replacing a v8, which ford has done in the taurus/MKS (365hp/25mpg) and is looking at for the mustang gt and F150.

hell, the v6 mustang makes 300+ hp and gets over 30mpg because of crafty gearing, tuning and DI. HYUNDAI has a turbo SONATA with 270 hp and 34mpg.

porsche needs to do the same thing to stay afloat. fuel economy reasons is why the next 911 is slightly longer than the current one; its mileage does not "fit" with a car its size and there would be a "gas guzzler" tax imposed.

running_cold924

so it will sound like a Subie?

V2Rocket

certainly hope so. hell, if they want a 2.5 turbo flat four with around 300hp, why not just BUY engines from subaru?

pettybird

mind your Porsches! It'll sound like a 914

jmj951

Which is exactly why Porsche might do this. The ever-increasing CAFE requirements are forcing manufacturers to increase the MPG of their entire fleet (lot of info on this on the Internet - one example is http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy). They wouldn't make a 2.5L turbo just to find more horsepower in a 2.5L powerplant, they'll do it to raise the MPG while still offering the capability to produce lots of horses. They sell a lot of Boxsters, so if they can significantly raise the MPG of the Boxster, it will greatly help offset the penalties for the higher-end 99x models. The SUV's are in a different category, but still Porsche has taken aggressive steps to increase the mileage of the SUV's by moving to an 8-speed automatic to improve the overdrive mileage (and possibly to keep the RPM's in a narrower, more fuel-efficient power band?).

If they do it, I think it will be a stop-gap to control the costs of the CAFE penalties, not even a semi-permanent direction. I think the next "longer-term" goal is the hybrid technology being developed with the GT3 RS hybrid.

No way a 1.8t is ever going into a 98x/99x platform - has to have a boxer-style engine.

Black51

The base Carrera produces 345HP. The CarreraS, 385HP. This is 911 entry level power. All the special NA models are over 400HP. Porsche aren't marketing fools. They know how to market their cars to supplement themselves. Just look, they came out with the Cayenne, sold countless numbers, and out comes the new GT3 RS and GT2 RS. They come out with the Panamera, and out comes the RS Spyder, with a street version 918 to boot. Keep in mind, all while still selling Cayennes. They're planning on some other spice name small SUV vehicle I can't remember off the top of my head; I wonder what will come out next? 2013 F1 maybe?... From what it looks like though, I would say that engine would be the top of the line engine in the Boxster/possibly other models. If it's a hair or two above an entry level 911 right now, I don't think rich docs will care too much about that anyways. They'll just want the 911 because it's a 911. Besides, at the time that engine would be to come out, I highly anticipate all 911s to have way over 400HP anyways. There are only 2 remaining under.

Anyways, for the older guys here, you've seen them do it already in the 80's with the 944 lineup. Sure, the 951 didn't outdo the 911 turbo, but it was pretty darn close. Sure, the 911 was their 'flagship', but the 944 series saved the company. I'm guessing it also helped funded a lot of R&D projects at the time also. Point is, I'm sure Porsche if they want will do some impressive things with an engine like that. Who knows, maybe they'll even give us a treat and sport it a 3.0 16v finally!

sebastian944

i don't think it will be much different than one of these..

User 52121

Ugh - I *hate* the way Subarus sound. Like a standard 4 cylinder that's running on 2 or 3 cylinders. *Every* time I hear one of those things with an exhaust I turn around expecting to see some POS beater with a hole in the muffler.