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The next Porsche Boxster will feature a four-cylinder engine for the first time, Stuttgart insiders have said.
Few details are known about the entry-level Boxster, but it is “the most economical Porsche ever” according to company sources.
Porsche’s most economical models are currently the 2.7-litre Boxster and Cayman, which emits 222g/km of CO2.
The turbocharged engine is likely to offer just over 200bhp, and next Boxster is expected to be significantly lighter than its predecessor. Read the full article

It's probably a necessary business decision, but it'll be a shame to lose some of the character from the entry level Boxster.  If they can use a flat four akin to the ones Subaru used to use, and they can generate that marvellous thrum, it won't be all bad.  

I'm sure this will get the Porsche faithful up in arms!

Personally, I am a bit of a fan of four cylinder Porsche's.  A new flat four is an enticing prospect, couple that with Porsche's experience of turbo charging, it should be a cracker!

 

Doubtless anyone who buys this will be subject to the obvious "poor mans porsche" jibes. That's a shame though because in some respects this is posrche going backs to its roots - simple lightweight sports car with reasonable, but not huge, power.

They may very well use the ubiquitous VW group (or should that be Porsche group?) EA888 2.0 TFSi engine. A turbo flat four would be brilliant, but would the production numbers add up, especially considering the EA888 has proved to be such a superb motor?

TegTypeR:

Personally, I am a bit of a fan of four cylinder Porsche's

Absolutely, bring it on! 

 As a current Boxster owner, my response is NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I realise why this is being done, but I think it will dilute the Boxster/Cayman too much. If this move is deemed absolutely necessary,  why can't be on a re-bodied and re-named model built on the Boxster/Cayman platform?

 

I'm cautiously optimistic about this.  The note of caution is due to the statement that the new Boxster will be 'significantly lighter' than the current model. The two routes to achieve this are: 1. Rip out all the so called luxury items and go in the Elise direction (but with better build quality), or 2. Go the expensive, carbon fibre and high tech route.  Either one will rule some potential buyers out, and maybe bring some new ones in.

The other point to make is that they might be about to distance the Boxster range from the Cayman range by nature of a 4/6 cylinder divide.  This would answer criticism of the Cayman being too expensive as a Boxster Coupe.

What the Porsche engineer said was that they "could" build a 4 cylinder engine for a future generation car "if the market demanded it". That's not quite the same as saying that a 4 cylinder engine will appear in the next generation Boxster. Is someone smoking recreational chemicals in Autocar Towers I wonder?

Isnt there a 2.0 TDi Twin-Turbo currently been devoloped by Audi/VW and said to produce around 200bhp...?

There is the third route to save weight that doesn't involve expensive carbon fibre and doesn't involve cutting luxuries. They'll use modern super-high tensile steel in a similar fashion to Mazda to allow less material to do the same job. This can be combined with more modern construction techniques and chassis structures to limit weight further. They also have the option of using Audi sourced aluminium technology to cut weight or strategically engineer the weight distribution. Plus a turbo four will be inherently lighter than a six cylinder engine, which in turn allows for smaller, lighter ancillaries.

Excellent if it's a flat four. Awful plan if they're going to use VW/Audi 2.0TFSi or whatever they call it. Might as well buy a golf/tt/whatever

I'm waiting for a 2-stroke Boxster made of Balsa wood.