Porsche 718 range to expand

Porsche has confirmed the Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder will live on.

And despite the switch to an all-new pair of smaller four-cylinder turbocharged engines for regular models, the kings of the 718 range will continue to be powered by the same naturally-aspirated six-cylinder engines.

Speaking at the launch of the four-cylinder 718 Cayman and Cayman S, the man responsible for Porsche's sport cars, August Achleitner, Director of Product Lines 911/718, confirmed the hero models would return after their popular introduction.

Asked if he would like to introduce more variants of the 718 to match the success of the 911, Achleitner played down the chances of a significantly expanded 718 range, but did confirm the Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder were on the agenda.

"If it makes sense we will do it," Achleitner told Drive. "But it is not the target to have in say, 2018 10 variants of the 718. It must make sense.

"The Boxster Spyder and the [Cayman] GT4 have been very successful in the market, and we did not know before, because we had not launched both models, and the result has been really, really excellent. So that showed us that there is a specific market.

"The customer likes this kind of Cayman and Boxster, very sporty, very powerful expression. So most likely we take this feedback and cultivate this also in the future."

Achleitner also revealed that the formula for the cars would remain the same - using a naturally-aspirated version of the company's iconic six-cylinder boxer engine. The current Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder use the same 3.8-litre flat-six from the 911 Carrera S.

Achleitner reaffirmed the company's commitment to its larger capacity naturally-aspirated engines, the 3.8-litre and 4.0-litre variants, despite the new turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines introduced in the 718 and 911 Carrera ranges.

While he revealed Porsche examined the idea of fitting the 718 with the 3.0-litre turbo flat-six from the 911 Carrera, it simply will not fit inside the engine bay.

"Six-cylinder turbocharged engine wouldn't fit," he said. "Naturally-aspirated we have today, and most likely we will offer versions in the future, like GT4 for example.

"We keep this line of naturally-aspirated engines in the GT3 and GT3 RS and so on, as well as GT4, we will develop it."

He also revealed Porsche opted against fitting the Cayman GT4/Boxster Spyder with a more potent version of the new turbocharged four-cylinder engine in order to create a greater differentiation between the models in the 718 range.

However, the exact timing of when the 718 generation Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder will arrive remains uncertain, as changes to emissions regulations in Europe are still be locked in.

"Of course we are working on it simultaneously but we have to be careful with the right date of launch for such a car," Achleitner explained.

However, while the naturally-aspirated six-cylinder will live on in the 718 range, it won't power the next 718 Cayman and Boxster GTS models - that will sit between the S and respective GT4/Spyder.

"We will change in this area as well with the flat-four," Achleitner revealed.

That will mean an uprated version of the 2.5-litre flat-four turbo in the 718 Cayman S, which is already good for 257kW and 420Nm. The existing Cayman GTS offers 250kW and 380Nm from its 3.4-litre flat-six.

Despite the GTS reputation as a 'driver's car' with a focus on driving enjoyment and purity, similar to the GT4, Achleitner defended the switch to the smaller, turbocharged engine.

"GTS is the whole package that makes this version very attractive and the engine is one part of it, but the whole package as a total that has to fit," he explained.

"In the Boxster, the 981 (Porsche's codename for the 718 predecessor), it fitted most perfectly, as well as the 991 (Porsche codename for the 911), I loved this version. It is a little bit more everyday [usable] but closer to the GT3. So it seems there is space enough to launch such a model. Both models have been successful in the 991 and the 981 so I think we will continue it."

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