The Porsche Cayman And Boxster Will Each Get A New Name And Four-Pot Engine For 2016

The return of the 718

Porsche has announced that for 2016 the Boxster and Cayman names will both be prefixed with the iconic ‘718’ moniker. The 718 designation originally belonged to a successful Porsche race car, which was built between 1957 and 1962 as a replacement for the infamous 550. The 718 was highly innovative for the period with its mid-engined layout, and it achieved considerable success on track, winning the 1959 Targa Florio.

Now, all this information on a classic race car doesn’t seem very important in isolation. I mean, the Boxster and Cayman were not originally built with racing in mind, so why attach a racing moniker? Well, by using the numerical designation from a classic racer, Porsche has the opportunity to present the cars in a different light. After all, despite being celebrated sports cars, these two are often labelled as the Porsches bought by those that couldn’t quite stretch to a 911.

Now, as car enthusiasts we know that rationale is a lot of rubbish, and that in fact, models such as the GT4 can provide an even better driving experience than its bigger brother, the 911. But subliminally, perhaps the alphabetic names separated the cars from the more ‘serious’ 911 and 918. At least by adding the 718 to the Boxster and Cayman title, they fall into line with the more serious Porsches.

Porsche has also taken this opportunity to reposition the Boxster above the Cayman in terms of price, following the same trend as the convertible and coupe 911s.

Flat-sixes are out, flat-fours are in

The 718 was a lightweight, four-cylinder, mid-engined sports car, and that four-pot detail is another aspect which links to the 2016 Boxster and Cayman. Stuttgart’s intentions of dropping four-cylinder engines into the cars have been clear for the last couple of years, and now we finally have confirmation.

Statistics for the Cayman have not yet been released. But we know that the 718 Boxster is to receive a 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-four, which should put out around 261bhp (258lb ft) in the base model and 311bhp (295lb ft) in the S according to reports. With this level of power we can expect the S model to produce a not too shabby sub-five second 0-62mph time.

Downsizing also brings with it some considerable benefits. We can expect these new models to be the most economical sports cars that the German firm has ever produced. And they will also be significantly lighter than the outgoing models, helping performance in every measurable area.

Now if all this news about four cylinders is making purists weep, do not fear. Allegedly Porsche’s six-cylinder engines will make a return, but will be limited to the range-topping models of the two cars, including the future 718 Cayman GT4.

In its press release Porsche has also made a big deal out of its Le Mans success, stating the 919 has been a perfect platform to test technology for future production models. For example, “combining combining two different energy recovery systems with a two-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine” has allowed them to develop the technology further. This is clearly a strong hint that we can expect to see a hybrid Cayman or Boxster in the not too distant future.

So far Porsche has been one of the only manufacturers to successfully introduce electric power steering and paddle shift transmissions to its most extreme models without corrupting the driving experience to an excessive degree. So even though we will morn the loss of soulful flat-six, hopefully the 718 Boxster and Cayman will be class leading cars when they are released next year.