Four-cylinder engine confirmed for Porsche Boxster

Porsche boss Matthias Müller has this week confirmed what we've long suspected; that the German sports car maker will return to making four-cylinder engines in an effort to trim its corporate Co2 emissions. Not only that, but the new engine is just the start of an ambitious low-carbon plan for Porsche...

Speaking in an interview with Germany's Auto Motor Und Sport , Müller confirmed that the next-generation Boxster and Cayman would get a new flat-four engine with power outputs of up to 400hp. That's a figure which is well ahead of the current most powerful models in the Boxster and Cayman ranges; the newly-announced GTS versions, which use a 3.4-litre flat-six to develop 330hp (in the Boxster) and 340hp (in the Cayman). With that kind of power, the new engine is also well ahead of the current entry-level 911, the 3.4-litre six-cylinder 350hp Carrera.

Müller wouldn’t confirm that the new engine is destined for Porsche’s range-topping rear-engined legend but he did at least reveal that the smaller cars will definitely get it.

"We will continue with the downsizing strategy and develop a new four-cylinder boxer engine which will see service in the next-generation Boxster and Cayman," he said. "We will not separate ourselves from efforts to reduce CO2." Rumour has it that Porsche's new compact SUV, the Macan, could also use the new engine, as a way of creating greater space between it and the Audi Q5 it shares a chassis and engines with.

Müller also dropped some tantalising hints about an electric future for Porsche. The company will be running its new hybrid 919 race car for the first time at Le Mans this year and already has plugin hybrid versions of the Panamera and Cayenne on sale. An all-battery Porsche remains on the table however, as Müller is keen not to see Stuttgart get left behind by California upstart Tesla. No concrete details were given, only that Porsche would not contemplate putting such a car into production unless a single-charge range of at least 300km, and preferably 400km, were possible.