[ THE SPIRITED DRIVER .]

All the previous Boxster and Cayman models had flat-6 boxer engines with their signature howl as they climbed up the rpms, this would put a smile on the face of any enthusiast without question. So why would Porsche change such a great naturally aspirated engine out for something with two less cylinders and a turbo charger? 

I’d say there are many reasons as to why the engine configuration was changed out, obviously the emissions standards of the present day are getting stricter and turbocharged motors on a whole produce less emissions when making sufficient power compared to a naturally aspirated counterpart. Fuel efficiency also comes to mind, turbocharged engines typically have better fuel economy than naturally aspirated ones due to the engine not having to work as hard on its own to get that high power output, however based on a few years of data the 718 Boxster actually tends to have about the same if not worse fuel economy than its predecessor which is surprising and no doubt caused more anger to come from the public since one of the reasons for the engine downsizing ended up not being true. Looking passed the mundane reasons for the change in engine size, the four cylinder turbocharged engine in both a 2.5L (718 S and GTS) and 2.0L configuration produced masses more torque than the previous flat-6 engines, especially at the low end and midrange of the rpms, thus giving the chassis the amount of power it always deserved. Using the GTS trim as an example; the 718 makes 269kW and 430Nm of torque at as low as 1900rpm compared to the 981's specs of 250kW and 380Nm of torque at 5800rpms. This being the case makes the 718 in any trim level a much more daily-friendly car than ever before and considering the 718’s target demographic, id say this is something that the buyers of the 718 would find very beneficial since to get the most out of the previous flat-6 engines you’d have to keep it up in those higher rpms, whereas with the flat-4 turbo has a very usable and broad torque curve along the whole rev range.

 

Moving away from the six cylinder engine for the 718 generation also created a solid point of difference between the Boxster/Cayman models and the 911. When both the Boxster and Cayman had a flat-6 engine, they would be called, in some cases, a “poor man’s 911”. Personally there are plenty of distinguishing features already between the two cars to seperate them, such as the engines positioning, target market and overall intended goals to name a few, but ever since the 986 and 987 Boxster generations got given the front end from the 911 parts bin and much of the interior too, the cars themselves were looked upon as baby 911’s, especially to begin with, and this could have some truth to it in the earlier generations based on physical appearance alone because if you had the chance to drive them back to back the differences were paramount. For the 981 generation and upwards however the Boxster and Cayman got given all their own parts, nothing came directly from a 911 at this point. So now with the latest 718 generation even the engine configuration has changed to even further seperate the two cars and bring Porsche back in to the 4 cylinder sports car market. I see this as a great thing, since the Boxster and Cayman are so much more than a baby 911, they are the definition of perfection in chassis and handling, and undoubtably one of the greatest sports cars of the modern era that deserve their own spotlight and not to be hiding behind the one of the iconic 911.