Baby Boxster-4 cylinder turbo good or bad for brand?
Discussion
If the baby Boxster with the Vw/audi stable engine comes off as an entry level model do you think it will help or damage the brand?
I have concerns that it's not a good ideal as the flat 6 engine is the Porsche Boxster signature piece and any 4 cylinder turbo regardless of bhp will not be Porsche.
I see this purely as a mass production sales move which could make them as common as a audi tt.
Vw shouldn't do this is my opinion.
Maybe on the flip side it could help residuals on proper boxsters?
Do you guys agree or disagree ?
Andy.
I have concerns that it's not a good ideal as the flat 6 engine is the Porsche Boxster signature piece and any 4 cylinder turbo regardless of bhp will not be Porsche.
I see this purely as a mass production sales move which could make them as common as a audi tt.
Vw shouldn't do this is my opinion.
Maybe on the flip side it could help residuals on proper boxsters?
Do you guys agree or disagree ?
Andy.
Edited by andyrno1 on Friday 14th October 01:05
I can't see why a 4 cylinder Boxster could not be a great Porsche. Flat fours have a lot of character, and I think most would agree that 944s and 968s were wonderful cars; the 3 litre straight four in the later cars was particularly good.
I'd love to see a really basic, light 4 cylinder Boxster with smaller wheels and tyres - could be the best handling car of the line up.
Cheers
I'd love to see a really basic, light 4 cylinder Boxster with smaller wheels and tyres - could be the best handling car of the line up.
Cheers
andyrno1 said:
If the baby Boxster with the Vw/audi stable engine comes off as an entry level model do you think it will help or damage the brand?
I have concerns that it's not a good ideal as the flat 6 engine is the Porsche signature piece and any 4 cylinder turbo regardless of bhp will not be Porsche.
I see this purely as a mass production sales move which could make them as common as a audi tt.
Vw shouldn't do this is my opinion.
Maybe on the flip side it could help residuals on proper boxsters?
Do you guys agree or disagree ?
Andy.
Porsche started with a 4 cylinder boxer engine that is their original signature piece, they didn't have a flat 6 for 15 years.I have concerns that it's not a good ideal as the flat 6 engine is the Porsche signature piece and any 4 cylinder turbo regardless of bhp will not be Porsche.
I see this purely as a mass production sales move which could make them as common as a audi tt.
Vw shouldn't do this is my opinion.
Maybe on the flip side it could help residuals on proper boxsters?
Do you guys agree or disagree ?
Andy.
I think it could be great.
As long as it isn't an I4 turbo engine from a golf or something. As above, flat 4s can be great and Porsche are more than a little bit handy at building turbo engines.
If they start sharing Audi TT bits though then that's going to really water down the brand.
Not that I'm too bothered about Porsche as a company these days apart from the special models (GT2,3, Cayman R, Boxter spider).
As long as it isn't an I4 turbo engine from a golf or something. As above, flat 4s can be great and Porsche are more than a little bit handy at building turbo engines.
If they start sharing Audi TT bits though then that's going to really water down the brand.
Not that I'm too bothered about Porsche as a company these days apart from the special models (GT2,3, Cayman R, Boxter spider).
Yep the 924,944,928 and 968's weren't flat 6's and they were great in their day but come on a Vw/audi lump with a turbo- it's a bit lame with no effort required.
I made a massive mistake buying a audi a few years ago. It didn't sound great and until I got revo mapping it didn't go very well either.
I applaud everybody's positive thoughts but when you pass one every few miles i think it takes the shine off the badge.
Andy.
I made a massive mistake buying a audi a few years ago. It didn't sound great and until I got revo mapping it didn't go very well either.
I applaud everybody's positive thoughts but when you pass one every few miles i think it takes the shine off the badge.
Andy.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
don't they call that the boxster spyder? 
to hell with sticking the four pot in a boxster, i want to see the real baby sports car porsche need to build
it's never going to weigh the same as an elise but if it can be on par with a mk3 mr2 spyder, manual roof operation, light-weight part composite construction & a base model with skinny enough tyres to allow some good slip angles, well i think i'd be straight down the opc
Yes they could of stripped things down like they did in the early 90's with the 968's.
You could buy the STD spec,the sport and the very bare bones club sport.
Not that anybody is going to start racing boxsters I hope.
Could of been a plan
Andy.
You could buy the STD spec,the sport and the very bare bones club sport.
Not that anybody is going to start racing boxsters I hope.
Could of been a plan
Andy.
Edited by andyrno1 on Friday 14th October 00:22
I think this engine is planned to go into the Boxster shell, to replace the 2.9 as part of a future refresh, and there will be an additional mini-boxster car created as well (although I'm probably wrong!)
The kudos of the brand will be impacted as this is a clear move to address environmental and financial concerns, rather than improve the sports element of the Boxster car. This will further continue when the mini boxster car that is rumoured to be on the cards (Minxster, anyone???!
) also arrives in a few years, as it will become a more mainstream brand and therefore will be produced in huge numbers.
However, this move will improve the finances so I don't expect the manufacturer to care really!
Folks who buy the 911 signature piece will still buy them and for the rest of the brand, it will be more accessible.
Kind of a win-win for everyone really, unless your concerned with the ultimately lack of brand exclusivity.
My 2p
The kudos of the brand will be impacted as this is a clear move to address environmental and financial concerns, rather than improve the sports element of the Boxster car. This will further continue when the mini boxster car that is rumoured to be on the cards (Minxster, anyone???!
) also arrives in a few years, as it will become a more mainstream brand and therefore will be produced in huge numbers.However, this move will improve the finances so I don't expect the manufacturer to care really!
Folks who buy the 911 signature piece will still buy them and for the rest of the brand, it will be more accessible.
Kind of a win-win for everyone really, unless your concerned with the ultimately lack of brand exclusivity.
My 2p
Edited by Paul O on Friday 14th October 11:57
Edited by Paul O on Friday 14th October 11:58
I dont think it will hurt the brand as long as it is a great car worthy of the badge.
All of the ingredients sound great to me. If it looks, drives and sounds great, is fuel efficent and is reliable, whats not to like?
I guess the pricing will be interesting. Those hoping for a £20k entry will be very disappointed!
MTR
All of the ingredients sound great to me. If it looks, drives and sounds great, is fuel efficent and is reliable, whats not to like?
I guess the pricing will be interesting. Those hoping for a £20k entry will be very disappointed!
MTR
The brand started with 4 cylinders, it's going back to it's roots!
On a more serious note, didn't the (more so) affordable Boxster save porsche (financially)? If so, in these days of harsh road tax and stupid petrol prices, a 4 cylinder Boxster will probably keep you in brand new Porsche metal as it will keep the ££ coming in to develop its models.
On a more serious note, didn't the (more so) affordable Boxster save porsche (financially)? If so, in these days of harsh road tax and stupid petrol prices, a 4 cylinder Boxster will probably keep you in brand new Porsche metal as it will keep the ££ coming in to develop its models.
It would be a real shame if the 4 cylinder replaces the flat-six 2.9, it is a special engine. I picked it over the 3.4 and the non-motorsport 3.6 and 3.8's.
If it powers the baby-box then, that is not so bad, Turbo engines from Porsche tend not to make a great noise anyway.
If it bad for the brand? Not really as, we already have diesels and V8's in the porsche lineup.
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