2001 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet on 2040-cars

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Porsche confirms four-cylinder Boxster, Cayman replacement for US

Those who've been anxiously awaiting the return of the four-cylinder Porsche will be glad to know that the wait is almost over. What's more, the quad-pot Porsches won't be kept away from US showrooms but will form an integral part of the company's North American strategy. Confirmation comes courtesy of Automotive News, which spoke to the company's chief executive Matthias Muller about its return to four-cylinder power. "First of all, we will have it in the Boxster and Cayman successor," Muller told AN. "And then we will see how it works and how successful it is and how the customers will react on that, and then we will take the next decisions." The model to which Muller refers is expected to be the 718 – a new line taking the place of the Boxster and Cayman, ostensibly allowing Zuffenhausen to start from scratch rather than "downsizing" the engine on existing models. The new range is anticipated to launch sometime in the middle of next year. Porsche is currently offering a 2.0-liter inline-four with 234 horsepower in the Macan (which we get with V6s) for certain markets overseas, but the 718 is expected to get a new flat-four 2.0- and 2.5-liter displacements with output edging up to 395 horsepower. The last time Porsche offered a four-pot in the US was with the front-engined 968 that wrapped up production two decades ago, but it hasn't offered a boxer four since 1976.

Porsche revisits the 911's dirty side with rally history film

It might not be a coincidence that there are rumors of Porsche revealing a safari version of the 911 at April's Beijing Motor Show, just as the Dakar Rally is about to begin. Adding fuel to the dusty desert fire is a just-released official video of Jeff Zwart driving the Porsche 953 that Jacky Ickx drove to victory in the 1984 edition of the race.
In the video, the seven-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner talks about how he grew up with the 911; it wasn't only the car he learned to drive in, it was his choice of racecar no matter whether the course was tarmac or the dirty stuff.
You can decide for yourself if these recent events are mere coincidence while you enjoy the 953's exhaust note in the video below. If you've got the time to see the 953 during its race-conquering drive and find out what the ersatz Paris-Dakar Rally used to be, we've also included a broadcast of that 1984 race below as well. Fast-forward to 19:44 to see the Porsches cross the open dessert and 29:09 to watch one of them tackle the dunes.

Porsche 911 hybrid could get green light after all

The prospect of producing a hybrid version of the Porsche 911 has been on and off the table more times than we'd care to count. But before the year is up, the German automaker will make up its mind whether or not it will put the idea in motion. Porsche currently offers more plug-in hybrids than any other automaker. And according to Porsche CEO Matthias Muller in speaking with Automotive News, the opportunity exists to expand the powertrain technology to every model in the company's lineup, including the 911. The sports car would likely be the next in line for hybridization, said Muller, giving Porsche a direct competitor to the BMW i8. It wouldn't be the first time Zuffenhausen would slot a hybrid powertrain into the iconic rear-engined coupe, having previously raced the 911 GT3 R Hybrid (pictured above), but it would be the first road-going version available to customers. "That is a technique which we at Porsche are very familiar with," Muller told AN, "so we can suppose that we could have plug-ins all over the model range, not only to save fuel but also to boost the performance of these cars." Currently the E-Hybrid versions of the Cayenne and Panamera which Porsche offers account for roughly 15 and 11 percent of their respective model lines' sales in the US, while the 918 Spyder, of course, is offered only as a hybrid. If the 911 hybrid gets the green light, that would leave only the Macan, Boxster and Cayman without the option of electric assist. Related Video: