Is VW killing Porsche?
Is VW killing Porsche?
In modern motoring world, what was very unlikely to happen 2 years ago, now is becoming reality. As all car makers race to release as many electric/hybrid vehicles in the shortest period of time, you could feel this coming.
Porsche… brand that had only 1 model in production for the most of it’s existence time, stubbornly putting the engine in the wrong place of the car… at the same time proud brand, famous of it’s history, consistency, heritage, sport image… is testing a new model equipped with 2.0 liter engine.
New Porsche Boxter
The new model is next Porsche Boxter. It will have 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder, turbocharged gasoline engine that produces around 200 HP (Doesn’t sound impressive at all). It will be released somewhere between 2010 and 2011. It will be the most economical and “the cleanest” Porsche ever built. CO2 emissions wont exceed 200 g/km (Big deal! – 2.0 liter Euro 4 certified engines get lower than 180 g/km).
Each car body part was redesigned, and lighter materials will be used for production. The basic version will be VW 2.0 TFSI exceeding 200 HP. Where did the boxer engine go?!!! Straight 4 doesn’t fit this car at all. Will the next step be a Boxter diesel?
I always liked them – You could define Porsche as the cheapest among supercars. Loved their tv ads. Even liked their most recent controversial model: Panamera. It will show the world that if You allow Porsche to put the engine in the right place and stop fighting with traction and physics (like they are in 911), they will kill the competition.
Probably most brand fans will remember “the experiment” Porsche made in the ’80s releasing 924 version. It was supposed to be a cheap Porsche. Back then it also had a 2.0 liter engine. And the history shows that… it didn’t sell. And thank god for that: brand image saved. Unfortunately in the time of raging eco-terrorism lobby, Porsche tries again. And my concern is that this time it will be for good. Let’s just hope that there will be some old fashioned, more powerful, boxer engine choice for the buyer.
This 2.0 l VW engine is just bad news…
Other rumours
Some sources claim that new Porsche is longer and wider than the current one. It should provide better traction, but also… there are another rumours that Porsche is making the Boxter bigger, to make room on the market for the new smaller model. “Some say” that it will be based on another VW – Blue Sport Roadster. This one has a potential to be a good car… good Volkswagen car. Porsche should be doing much better than this.
To actually see the new Boxter we need to wait for Geneva Motor Show 2010.
Source of info: onet.pl
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