718 Cayman

Make
Porsche
Segment
Coupe

Porsche has a habit of turbocharging its products. The 911, Panamera and Cayenne are all available in turbocharged form, so why not the Boxster or Cayman? Well, for one thing, turbocharging its entry-level models could put them too close to the 911 in terms of price, power and performance, but a new development could change that. According to the latest, Porsche is indeed working on a Cayman Turbo. But rather than turbocharge the 2.7-liter flat six already found in the base Cayman or the 3.4 in the Cayman S, the turbocharger could be bolted on to a new flat four Porsche has in development.

The new 2.5-liter boxer four could help Porsche further reduce its carbon footprint (thereby making room in its range for less environmentally-friendly models) and serve as a new entry-level model for both the Cayman and its convertible sibling, the Boxster. What we wonder is how much power Porsche could possibly give a Cayman Turbo, since there's not a lot of room in between the 315-horsepower Cayman S and the 350hp 911 Carrera. Sources anticipate the 2.5-liter turbo four would match the base Carrera's 350 horsepower but offer even more torque at 369 lb-ft (versus the 911's 287), driving the rear wheels through a dual-clutch transmission.

If accurate, the Cayman Turbo could debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show next September, with a similarly-equipped Boxster Turbo to follow. If we had to guess, though, we'd suspect that Porsche could be preparing to replace the current flat sixes in the Boxster and Cayman with the more efficient fours that would match or even slightly exceed their outputs while improving both fuel consumption and emissions figures for a best-of-both-worlds solution, because frankly we just can't see Porsche cannibalizing its own core product with a smaller one. (Pictured are the incoming Cayman S in yellow and the outgoing Cayman R in green.)