Maverick787

Mark Dreyer

Marine Blue

Zeus993

Exactly. And I rest my case with my Spyder's Cup Holder and Headlight Washer Deletes.

n4v4nod

Maverick787

kiznarsh

The RS is already quite the beast...520 (or even 500) hp out of an 4-liter NA engine is pretty amazing.

Maverick787

Suicide Jockey

From the January issue of the UK rag, GT Porsche:

"What follows the 718 GTS models? A Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder, of course. Prototypes are already in testing. Andreas Preuninger has confirmed that both will be powered not by force induced four-cylinder engines as previous 718s have been, but by naturally aspirated six-cylinder units just like their 'GT' and 'Spyder' forebears. A four-litre engine potentially the unit found in the 911 GT3 (albeit detuned), is expected to appear. Power is sure to improve upon the 375 hp the old car's ran, somewhere above 400 hp is likely, and a subsequent four-second 0-62 time is not out of the question. A new gearbox, likely a six-speed manual, will aim to silence those who questioned the ratios found in the old 981 cars. Whether a PDK automatic transmission will appear is uncertain, but seems unlikely. Styling will follow the conventions set out by previous GTS cars, in particular the the 981 versions of the pairing, with the Spyder to feature its trademark lightweight canvas convertible roof and dual hump rear deck. The GT4 will be equipped with an aggressive motorsport inspired rear wing."

Absolutely befuddled by those still believing turbo power is around the corner. Gotta be card-carrying members of the Flat Earth Society, which I hereby vow to join as a Sustaining Member should Bloom, AP, and every other high-level Porsche exec that has weighed in on this topic ALL prove to be misleading merry pranksters -- that, or absolutely clueless about future product development going on right under their very noses.

Marine Blue

spyderphile

I'll be surprised if it's a brand new tranny. I thought it would be easier/cheaper to use already homologated powertrain from GT3. However, I would be more than happy if the ratios are shorter. We absolutely do need them shorter. But, if Porsche pulls a fast-one as they did with 911T, it may not make much material difference; might just be shorter barely. Let's see how that turns out. Weight loss? Don't count on it! 982 platform is heavy. Without radical redesign of the underlying platform, reducing weight will be just marginal while staying under a certain price target; not enough to make meaningful difference.

As for the flat-earthers, well, happens every single time! They will march on until the official launch! :-)

tcsracing1

I wouldnt be shocked if the 718 Spyder is powered by the Cayman GTS motor and the 718 GT4 is powered by a detuned GT3 motor.

guab

That would certainly be a way to not sell the Spyder IMHO. Could be wrong... not that I would complain, it would just increase the value of the 981 Spyder.

zorgg

I think that Porsche have a kind of 'marketing' problem with the next generation of the Spyder...

In the 718 range, the convertible (the Boxster) is now positioned at a higher price than the coupe (the Cayman). And the technical specs are the same (same engine, same chassis etc.).
This sounds more logical, and saves Porsche the efforts to make the Boxster to appear 'a bit different' / under powered compared to the Cayman, as it was the case before.
But, considering that this approach will remain the same for the next GT4/ Spyder generation (this is confirmed by the spy shots), this would mean that the Spyder will be a sort of 'convertible' GT version of the Boxster, potentially faster than the GT4 - the 981 Spyder is lighter than the 981 GT4 - at least in some circumstances. Would Porsche live with this? I dont know... Maybe the launch of the 991 Speedster will provide some answers, when comparing its specs with the GT3 ones.

Talking about the Speedster, there again Porsche have a severe marketing issue to solve. It's amost certain (but not sure) that this version will get the 4.0 engine of the GT3, for a price of c. 215 k€. We don't know if this engine will be detuned or not – some experts report a power of c. 480 hp.

If this is the case, then how will Porsche manage the launch of a Spyder with a, say, 420 hp NA 6 cyl, at a price of c. 115 k€, a few months after the Speedster ? Such a price would represent a high increase compared to the 981 version, but will still be 100 k€ lower than the Speedster. And, in this precise case, not doubt that the Spyder will be faster than the Speedster in most cases (the Spyder weight/power ratio will be lower).
Putting a 4 cyl turbo of the same power (420 cv) in the Spyder would not really solve the problem, from a performance point of view, but at least Porsche could save the 6 cyl NA ‘argument’ for the Speedster and the GT4.
I don’t know how Porsche are going to solve this, frankly. From an industrial point of view, fitting two different engines on the Spyder and the GT4 would be a non-sense. If I were Porsche, I’d just simply increase massively the price of the 718 GT4 and Spyder (by naming them ‘RS’, for example), e.g. up to the one of a 991 GTS, as performances will be similar. NA versions of the GT4/ Spyder would probably be the last sports models with NA engines that Porsche will produce (with the 991.2 RS and the Speedster), everybody feels that. No doubt they will sell, regardless of the price… And Porsche won't miss an opportunity to make more profits !
If they go for a 'cheap' version of the GT4/ Spyder (expect not much less than 100 k€ !), then the 4 cyl turbo is a logical option. These will be very fast cars in any case, but a bit less ‘noble’ than the 991 models with their 6 cyl turbo, not mentionning the GT3.

Personally, I'm not sure that Porsche even know what they will do eventually. Maybe the future European norms for emissions will condition the final choice. For example, there are press articles in Europe saying that BMW may stop - at least for a moment – the production of the new M5 because they cannot cope with the new emissions regulation to be set by 1st September 2018 onwards…

spyderphile

Is there a reason why you think so? For a number of reasons, it would make sense to keep the powertrain same between GT4 and Spyder. In fact, GT4 has more to gain from a turbo mill. Since you are in motorsports, you would know better that a turbo engine helps with lower lap times due to the nature of power delivery? Or, am I getting it wrong? NA could be slower and hence suits the Spyder better as it is street-focused. However, I am positive that the powertrains will not be different between the two.

911 Speedster demography is different. A Speedster buyer is unlikely to cross-shop a Spyder; instead, he/she will add a Spyder to the collection. A Spyder owner is even more focused on driving experience as opposed to owning experience of an exclusive 911 variant, price not withstanding. Porsche is a master of product planning and positioning; they are able to skillfully tune the fragments of each platform and make them all offer just the right kind of differentiation. As for the regs, these were known years in advance as were the product road maps. Porsche would know exactly what they are offering at least 2-3 years out. And, the pricing model is well defined in advance as well.