get ready for the new 911... 4 cylinder !!

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-new...s-ar98317.html The important bit: Development Chief Wolfgang Duerheimer said: "If the CO2 guidelines require it, then our engines will become smaller and may have just four cylinders. The important thing is that the performance has to be right. The 911 must always be on the cutting edge." I think this is the end ! If Porsche offers 4 cylinder version of the 911, I think even our good old 996 might become a collector and finally see its price going up ! ... One can always dream Start stocking on IMS engine while you still can

Welcome back to the 912E!

Well you know F1 is thinking of going back to the 1.6L 4 cylinder turbos. Back in the 80's BMW was able to produce over 1400hp in qualifying trim from a 1.5L turbo. In a sense this would really force the envelope of engine design and technology which I welcome. Without this, I don't know how many more pushrod and 2 valve inefficient motors we'll still see around.

I really doubt Porsche would come out with a 4cyl 911 anytime soon. The 911 has had a 6 cylinder since the sub 2.5 liter days, there's still lots of room to make a smaller 6 cyl engine...

The thing is Porsche never had any turbocharged engine commercialized (correction I had forgotten about the superb 944 turbo, they could bring that back indeed), and nowadays without turbo or supercharging, there is not much leeway to reduce engine size and keep the power. And even with that solution it is not that great. Look at Audi who now retired their super 3.2 liter V6 from their entry models, the 4 cylinder 2 liter is producing same power, but the driving experience for me is not as good. I really wonder what's their plan... May be hybrid 4 cyl. or a Tesla powered 911

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4-cylinder engine has less friction than a 6-cylinder engine. Lighter. Thus the rest of the car can be made lighter though hp/torque output of the new 4-cylinder engine play a role in how light the drivetrain can be. The transmission/etc needs to be heavy enough to withstand the torque unless Porsche uses the Ecu to restrict torque output under some extreme low speed heavy acceleration situations to lessen the stress on the drivetrain. Sincerely, Macster.

Phil is right....the driver experience is not the same. Just because you could make a 4 cyl produce the same power output of the H6...doesn't mean the experience would be the same. It wouldn't sound the same, wouldn't feel the same. If I wanted a super high revving, rice rocket sounding car....I'd buy a Honda.

So a Formula 1 engine sounds like a rice rocket? I'm not sure I'd turn down the offer if someone offered me a Formula 1 engine.

You know the whole problem with this goal of increased fuel efficiency has one big thing going against it...the required safety features the DOT forces all manufacturers to include on every model. This inevitably adds a lot of extra weight. Think about how during the 1980s there were several small cars that could hit 40 MPG, now you have to have a hybrid or diesel to get close. Strip all the crap off cars and you can get your pie-in-the-sky mileage estimates. But without that I don't know how they can achieve these objectives without the use of some real exotic (expensive) materials.

I doubt there will be a 4cyl 911.... this is Porsche cash cow. There are rumours of the 356 coming back, even a baby boxster in 4cyl guises. The 911 has been going from 3.4-4.0, Going to 4cyl would be against the trend.

Yeah, making a 4cyl would be like Porsche making an SUV, ain't gonna happen!

I'll bet it will happen and I'll bet they make it sound like a Ducati.

A 4 cyl would make a nice motor/generator in a hybrid system where the real power and torque is coming from a high torque electric motor on each axle. A small engine would leave room for more batteries and provide ample recharging-on-the-fly. No direct hook-up to the drive train. Small engine saves weight. No tranny, even less weight. No shifter linkage. Perhaps, better weight distribution. 912H? If that small 4 cyl was a very efficient Blue-tech diesel... 912DH?

Watch. The 4-cylinder WILL appear. It will be in the reintroduction of the old 914, something that was rumored over a year ago, and looked damn good, whether in VW guise or Porsche guise. But the 911 will remain a 911, 6 cylinders.

I myself do not want a 911 with an F1 4-cyl engine. I like the deep rumble and sound of a 6 cylinder. My Honda Accord coupe is a 4 cyl, and all I hear is the buzzzz of the motor. I'll never buy another 4 cyl car!

There are many (older) folks who say REAL porsches don't have more than 4 cylinders.. then again, the 356 crowd is a bit crazy If it gives you the HP and TQ to go fast, it shouldn't matter. One could look at this a bit like the Fuel crisis that killed the muscle car... and yet here we are today with 500+hp corvettes and cadillacs and others, clearly it was just time to push the engineers a bit harder.

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Good point!

C'mon , The electric Porsche 911 will be here before the 4 banger.

My 1 liter 4 cylinder 170hp at 400 lbs used to be unheard of. The 4 cylinder hybusa at 1300cc has been boosted to 700hp+ with turbo's. Soooooo a simple 4 cylinder at 4 liters if built proper with good rods, pistons and block can crank 14,000 rpm. Be my guest to figure (4 X 170hp=?) and its naturally aspirated. The newer 1 liter engines are hitting 200hp. One big draw back is opening it up has all the cops ready to catch you for miles away when engine revs hit the higher levels. My bike hits 100mph in first gear and does the 1/4 mile in the 8 seconds at 145mph. I'd like to have a car that does the same. Shame is all the safety gear loaded into cars makes them heavy.