What are your thoughts?


Does everyone still have their pitchforks ready?

 

I'll reserve judgment until I see and drive one. I am not optimistic though. With the turbo adding extra weight, heat, and stress to the little 4 banger and no PSE option available, it doesn't sound promising. The good news is the performance numbers do look good. I'm just not convinced that the improved performance is enough to offset the negatives noted above.

 

PSE coming out in the summer.

 

Love it! I like the redesign of the dash as well. I have no reservations at all about the turbo, as my 4-cylinder Bimmer is turbo boosted with no problems whatsoever. The exhaust note is much nicer than I expected, as well.

 

What's heavier, two extra cylinders on the engine or a turbo?

You act like Porsche has never built a turbo engine before.

 

If you look at the numbers - the turbo is heavier by 78 pounds.
981.1 S manual = 2910 pounds
981.2 S manual = 2988 pounds

I am not saying that Porsche can't build a good turbo - if you look strictly at numbers, the turbo 4 has more power and much more torque over a wider range. There is a cost for this however in increased weight (see above), lots of extra heat (I think we can all agree on that one - and I am sure that the added third section of the side vent is there to pump cooling air into the area of the turbo in the engine bay), and additional stress on the engine (Porsche does indeed know how to build turbos, and they probably have built the 4 banger to handle the stress - time will tell).

Yes, Porsche has built lots turbos, but when was the last time they did it for a mid engine street car? Its been a very long while, if ever. And all you have to do is look at the M96 engine to know that Porsche can screw it up.

Bottom line - I will reserve judgment one the 981.2.

 

http://jalopnik.com/real-talk-from-w...911-1685420602

 

I was going to wait for the 718 Boxster S but decided to go with the 2016 981.1 Boxster S. So glad I did.

 

Although I'm sure it will sound a bit rubbish, I'm far from believing it won't provide an excellent performing, reliable, and ultimately significantly more muscular vehicle lineup for both 981s and 991s. It will allow for high powered variations year after year and easy modifying by insatiable enthusiasts for extra oomph.

Firstly, Porsche has been building and refining Turbos since forever and the technology developed on the 997 Turbo, like VTG, will trickle down. Why wouldn't Porsche be able to bring that reliability and performance to a smaller unit and various applications? That's what Porsche ALWAYS does!

Secondly, this is Porsche. Their entire existence depends on the 911 having a pristine reputation for reliability and performance. I see no reason that Porsche would do anything --- even if it were making a rotary engine --- that would compromise the brand's reputation for reliability.

 

My 968 and 912E were 4-cylinders, and so were the 356s. 912s, 924s, 944s, and 914s of yore. The history of Porsche is not just 6-cylinders, as many of us who enjoyed the 4-cylinder cars of previous generations can attest.

The new 718 may not have the 'sound' of the flat 6, but may nevertheless provide a wholly wonderful ownership experience. We have so little to go on at this point in the way of hearing from people who have bought the new Boxster because they're not for sale yet. Magazine road tests are in short supply as well.

Patience.....patience........my bretheren. I choose to think that the brain trust at Porsche knows what they're doing.

 

My BMW 228xi had a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with 240 hp, rated at 0-60 in 5 seconds.

I had reservations about BMW's decision to begin utilizing a 4-cylinder in place of their 6-cylinder engine, which was devine, in my opinion (good horsepower, good torque, and oh so smooth). However, my experience with the 228 was more than satisfactory and restored my faith in BMW's decision makers.

I wouldn't expect anything less from Porsche's decision makers, so rather than panic now, let's wait until the new Boxster/Cayman cars are introduced, tested by the car magazines, and bought by the masses. I'm guessing that they'll like both the 300 hp four in the base, and the 350 hp in the S.

And by the way, my computer's speakers reproduce sound pretty poorly so that hearing the new 718 in a YouTube clip will hardly be a meaningful experience.

 

Even the 911 TT isn't known for its mellifluous sound, but nothing a PSE or aftermarket muffler can't fix.

To me, it's a concern, but ultimately, the character of the engine and how the car performs is more important.

 

The Turbocharged Wonder Surrounding the Porsche 718 Boxster



The Porsche 718 Boxster/Boxster S twins inspire many things. Lust, fantasies of driving up the Pacific Coast Highway during a sunset, thoughts of making them even faster - the list goes on and on.

Read the rest on the 6SpeedOnline.com homepage. >>

 

Car and Driver:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t-drive-review

Pete Stout for Panorama - PCA magazine:

https://www.pca.org/news/2016-04-12/...s-first-drives

And finally Road & Track:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...rything-right/

Forbes chimes in too:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markewin.../#1b18d3ac2ae5

 

Thanks for the links, jg atl.