GTPNewsWire
Contributing Writer
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This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Andrew Evans (@Famine) on January 16th, 2020 in the Automotive News category.
Porsche Drops Turbos, Brings Back the Flat Six, for New Boxster and Cayman GTS
- Thread starter GTPNewsWire
- 9 comments
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- 2,604
- Banbaria.
- GTP_Venari
Colour me surprised. No, wait, the other thing. No matter how many people said recent updates made the 718s sound 'much better' what they were really saying was they sounded 'slightly less bloody awful'.
As everybody is moving to electric drivetrains for just about everything as fast as they can get the battery technology to support them, I guess Porsche just shrugged and said 'screw it'.
Good on them. It probably makes even more sense, as driven badly, turbo cars are similarly bloody awful in comparative emissions levels.
As everybody is moving to electric drivetrains for just about everything as fast as they can get the battery technology to support them, I guess Porsche just shrugged and said 'screw it'.
Good on them. It probably makes even more sense, as driven badly, turbo cars are similarly bloody awful in comparative emissions levels.
So much for it being the last 6 cylinder Cayman.
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- ZedNinetySix &
Porsche, I salute you!
- 9,054
- Murica
- BasedAckbar
I’m gonna go against the grain.
We had a Cayman S from 2018, and that turbo was a fun thing.
Guess the consumers wanted something with more noise to it.
We had a Cayman S from 2018, and that turbo was a fun thing.
Guess the consumers wanted something with more noise to it.
- 2,980
- The Ramapo Mountains
- jjaisli
718 owners get a lot of hate from all sides. I actually feel very badly for them. And I don't want to join in the big, on going, public beat down, without at least explaining why.
Dynamically, on paper, the 718 was an improvement over the 981 in almost every way. Although it's based on the same chassis, the 718 Cayman/Boxster gained about 150-lbs over the pervious 981, that was the one clearly negative change where you can look at raw numbers and be legitimately disappointed. But it gained chassis rigidity and stiffness as the trade off. And along with that, the electric power steering was improved in feel and sharpness, the suspension setup was improved and refined, the car may be slightly heavier but it felt a bit more alive and quicker in transient maneuvers and it's supposedly a bit more buttoned down in high speed corners. While the interior was largely a carry over (along with the rest of the car) in typical Porsche fashion, little tweaks and improvements were everywhere to be found. Except for the new infotainment system with Apple car play--that was a big improvement.
I'm a bit on the fence with the styling updates. I think it looks better from some angles, worse from others compared to the previous generation. But with every styling evolution from Porsche, they mostly tend to age better with time.
And the car simply has more power, everywhere. It's faster 0-60, quarter mile, 0-200 kmh and top speed. That's on paper and in the real world. Get a good launch under the right conditions and a 718 S will show a 981 S it's backside after about 3 seconds and won't stop until it's out of sight. But in the real world, not every press of the throttle is a perfect launch onto an open road with unrestricted speed. And this is where the 718 falls short and is so universally hated. No, it's not just about the 'noise' although sound does play a big part. I posted this in the GT4/Spyder thread but I'll post it here for comparison.
So I'm sorry, but what the 718 puts out is noise. What the 981 and 987 put out was pure music. I know, it's subjective. But it's more than noise. The throttle response and driving characteristics of both the 2.0t and 2.5t 4 cylinder boxer engines are a huge let down. Sure they make plenty of mid range power, just like any 4 cylinder turbo engine. But they have a real Jekyll and Hyde nature. When they're on boost they're torquey and powerful. When they aren't, they're flat and unresponsive. You're driving down a road, waiting to make a left, waiting for traffic to pass, almost stopped but not quite and you hit the throttle and suddenly you're in a panic, one...two...three. Suddenly it feels like the car is limp mode. Then WHAM! And when driving up a curvy mountain road where the flat six in the previous generation would respond almost telepathically to slight changes in pressure on the throttle, balancing the car so delicately, the 718 responds clumsily, like an on-off switch that you're trying not to toggle but to play with in the middle ground. And unfortunately, that engine just isn't a dancer. It's the strongman at the fair--give him the cue and he'll bang down the mallet and ring the bell. But the flat six in the 981 could hit any level in between at will.
The 718's disappointing engine characteristics made me want to a buy a BMW M2 about 2 & 1/2 years ago. And I almost did. Until I starting searching for any unsold or barely driven 981 still sitting on a lot somewhere. Sports cars are more than just speed. And Cayman owners should know this better than most sports car owners. It's about balance and nuance and finesse, everything the 718 chassis has in abundance, but it's engine lacked in spades.
The 718, as an entry level Porsche with the turbo 4 would be fine at maybe $50K. But at the other end of the range, at $90K for the GTS, it was a bit of a joke. And not a funny one. I think the return to the flat six with the 4.0 liter in the new GTS is going to do wonders for Cayman sales and will also do a lot to reinvigorate the 718, which is now Porsche's worst selling model.
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- 11,805
- Marin County
). The flat six is just such a lovely engine. Smooth and tractable and it just sounds like heavy cream tastes. I'm probably going to upgrade to a 981 at some point.
