im sure it will be a nice, fun car...but along with this comes brand dilution as well.

 

thatīs not dilution, thatīs called staying alive in the future (emissions, CAFE standards etc.)

 

Something they won't do but I can still imagine and drool over, a lightweight mid engine Porsche with Audi's turbocharged inline 5 from the TT RS and RS3.

 

^ even the 2.0T wouldn't be bad.. some people are pushing 400hp out of them.

 

I have to agree with this. Brought my brother's 2.7L boxster orange to TPC last year and it made a huge difference in performance but still kept its Porsche characteristics. The car runs to 60 in about 4.2 to 100 in 10.3 and the qtr in about 12.5. Remember this is a 2.7L and at the same time gets the same gas mileage as stock (up to 25-30 mpg cruising in top gear on the highway). The car only has 300 wheel horsepower so its not putting down crazy power but it works on its weight. The stock boxster/cayman should come with this performance, the 551 is simply VW putting a more affordable car on the market with the Porsche badge. Youre going to see these things all over the place and I dont necessarily think thats a good thing (of course for vw and porsche sales it is but thats not what I mean).

Here's a quick video of the 2.7 with my friends v10 r8 spyder...by no means am I comparing the two but the fact that the 2.7 turbo can stick around to 100 isnt bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYg33yG-nWA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

It isnīt really new that Porsche takes a platform from VW and creates a car with its badge on it.
I mean they have done it with the 914 and today they are doing it with the Cayenne.
And those who have driven both SUVs (Touareg and Cayenne) can surely tell that the Cayenne, which shares the platform with the Touareg, is a different animal (handling, dynamics) compared to The VW brother. Once Porsche gets their hands on a platform it will work wonders. This car will be and perform like a true Porsche, anyone doubt this?!

P.S. Nice vid!

 

I just wonder how much smaller would it be? Boxter is just perfect, anything smaller is borderline not comfy! Why wouldn't they integrate a smaller engine, such as a turbocharged 4 cylinder instead is beyond me.

 

Well, it seems like Porsche makes sure that there is room for an even smaller car cause every other (sportscar)model is getting bigger.
the new 991 is ~2" longer than the 997, the new Cayman/Boxster is said to become a tad bigger too.

P.S. a 1.6L Turbo flat 4 is in the works. The 551 will get it first, The new Boxster/Cayman later on.

 

thats what i'm talken about

 

I'm all for 551 Cup racing

 

I think we will find their new opposed flat four curiously similar to a flat four four cam engine that they are rumored to have had quite a bit of input on. The Subaru. The Subaru Sti engine seems to sound just like what the doctor ordered on this little mid-engine. And the economies of scale work for several companies to share the same base engine, rebadged for each.

 

a new rendering from Autobild.
(Autobild renderings are usually pretty close to the real thing in the later stages)



according to Autobild itīs powered by a Turbo flat-4 with 180HP, 210HP and 240HP
and it will cost ~$35K (30% less than the new Boxster).

 

And an additional $40k in options...

Seriously - that car could compete on a global scale with the best economical convertibles out right now... The only problem I see now is - what makes this Porsche special?

Has the line blurred even more?

(referring to the brand dilution that was mentioned earlier, Cayenne, Panamera, Boxster, and now this)

 

itīs midengined and it carries the Porsche badge.
that should be enough to be a success.

 

Sadly, I agree with you.

I think I'm going to call this the MR-2-551.

Isn't this the ENTIRE reason Toyota made the MR-2? And I mean entirely...