#Boxer 6 engine driver#
#Boxer 6 engine manual#

To ensure some semblance of efficiency, Porsche has even integrated cylinder deactivation, the first flat-six to do so. There are 4 valves per cylinder, integrated dry sump lubrication, and is water-cooled as well. This 24-valve, DOHC, flat-six engine uses an aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection, forged pistons, and plasma-coated cylinders. No, it has nothing to do with the outgoing 911 GT3’s 4.0-litre engine, as it doesn’t fit in the mid-engined Boxster. In truth, it’s actually a bored and stroked version of the 3.0L 9A2 twin-turbo flat-six we piloted in the 911 Carrera (992), sans the two turbochargers. We first saw this engine inside the 2018 718 Cayman GT4 and 718 Spyder (982), and it has been detuned for the 718 GTS 4.0 application. That arrangement comes with its own advantages such as being inherently balanced with fewer mechanical vibrations, compact enough to be suitable for mid-engine applications, and having a low center of gravity.īut where did this engine come from? Did Porsche develop a whole new engine from scratch for their two weakest selling sports cars? Not quite. That is what gives Porsche’s army of flat-six engines their distinctive look, noise, and power delivery - it’s also why their flat four-cylinder sounds like a Subaru WRX, which also uses the same “Boxer” layout. Notice anything different from a V6 or inline-six? The cylinders are firing from side to side, rather than up and down or in a V shape. Put your engineering caps on, because we’re going to take a deep dive into Porsche’s 4.0-litre flat-six engine, see what makes it so efficient, why it doesn’t need turbos, and how it behaves when we rev it up to the stratosphere in the new 2021 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0.įorget natural aspiration for a second and take a look at the shape of this engine. Marc Ouayoun, President and CEO of Porsche Canada, tells us that “the GTS 4.0 models will appeal to those who wish to have much of the experience of a 718 Spyder or 718 Cayman GT4 with perhaps less emphasis on track performance.” Set to underpin the 718 Boxster and Cayman GTS 4.0 models, that meant Porsche not only found a way to make it fuel efficient, but also dynamically relevant in today’s market filled with high outputs and meaningless Nürburgring claims.

#Boxer 6 engine manual#

And like manual transmissions, none have been a bigger proponent of keeping NA motors alive than Porsche.īack in 2019 when most sports car manufacturers were hopping on the bandwagon of smaller turbo engines, Porsche went ahead and announced their brand new, 4.0-litre flat six-cylinder engine, which was, you guessed it, naturally aspirated.

#Boxer 6 engine driver#

Turbos hand you torque on a silver platter, whereas NA engines need to be wrung out, subsequently adding to driver engagement. Power delivery becomes nonlinear, high RPMs are capped off, and you no longer have to work hard to extract performance. Lamborghini has been holding off longer than most with its stratospheric V10, but even storied brands like Ferrari have begun to make the inevitable shift.īut why is that a bad thing? Turbochargers add a significant amount of horsepower and low-end torque, but they clog up the mechanical acoustics, and many of the distinctive notes characterized by the engine’s shape and form are lost in transition.

That being said, there are still a few gems fanning the dying flame, like the Lexus 5.0-litre V8 nestled under the hood of the LC 500, the 6.4-litre HEMI V8 motivating the Dodge Charger SRT, and the small-block LT2 V8 mounted in the middle of the new Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray. Just ask Mercedes-Benz who just announced that their next-generation C 63 AMG will replace the V8 with a diminutive four-cylinder. Small displacement motors married with turbochargers and lithium-ion batteries are the new norm. Gone are the high-strung VTECs from Honda and exotic flat-plane crank V8s from Shelby. Motors without any kind of plumbing are becoming scarcer by the minute, as automakers route their R&D spending into cleaner forms of mobility. What used to be the most common type of engine has now transitioned into one of the rarest. The writing's on the wall for naturally aspirated (NA) engines.