The iconic 911 must be feeling like a bit of an outsider at Porsche. The German automaker keeps on throwing all sorts of different models into the mix to keep the 911 company, but the little rear-engined sportscar continues on as it always has. In recent years, Porsche has launched a mid-engined V10 supercar (Carrera GT), a mammoth SUV (Cayenne), a pair of junior sportscars (Cayman and Boxster) that have encroached on its territory, and is even gearing up to launch a four-door sedan (Panamera). New reports indicate that Stuttgart is even considering trying its hand at four cylinders again. Now before you go and cringe, realize that Porsche has a long history of four-bangers. The most recent were the 944 and 924 models of the '70s and '80s, but remember that even the original 356 had four cylinders. In any event, Porsche says it's not looking to launch a four-cylinder model anytime soon, but that should the need arise, it would be prepared to lob a couple of cylinders off the 911's boxer six to make a flat four with a likely displacement of (drop the remainder, carry the one...) 2.4 liters. With the current socio-economic climate, Porsche might find demand for a four-banger before it can say Zuffenhausen.
Thanks to media outlets like YouTube and Autoblog, a good lap time in on the Nurburgring will get you plenty of positive press. The grueling track has become the yardstick by which any performance vehicle is measured, and if you can post a record time, people want to know about it. The engineering geniuses at Porsche have designed a special moving dyno to test g-loads in a virtual 'Ring. The system was used to test the upgraded dry sump oil system for the new 3.6- and 3.8-liter boxer engines powering the 2009 911 Carrera and Carrera S. The dry sump system now has a variable-flow pressure pump that needed to be tested extensively at the 'Ring, but the new system can perform the same task whenever engineers want, and at a fraction of the cost.
Engineers were able to get a near perfect reproduction of a lap on the 'Ring by recording the g-force and engine load during a live lap of the Nordschleife, and then feeding the data into the contorting contraption. Hit the jump to view video of the moving dyno in action. It's pretty radical, and it gives you a better idea of how crazy the 'Ring really is.
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Inside Line is reporting that the new, RWD coupe being developed by Subaru and Toyota will only be sold as a Subaru in markets outside of Japan, while the Toyota version will remain exclusive to the Land of the Rising Sun. The report goes on to say that the coupe will be based off the Subaru Impreza (despite Toyota/Subaru's own press release saying that it's an "all-new" platform) and that power will be provided by a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter boxer engine producing 220 hp at 6,500 rpm.
Toyota and Subaru are using the Integra Type-R as the performance benchmark for the new coupe, with a 103-inch wheelbase, a 2+2 seating layout and a curb weight of 2,866 pounds. As reported before, the coupe will debut in 2011 and pricing is expected to begin just south of $20,000.
Next month in Geneva, Subaru will officially pull the wraps off the Legacy 2.0D and Outback 2.0D, which, of course, are the first vehicles to be powered by Subaru's new 2.0L Boxer Diesel. Visually, the cars look just like their gasoline-engined counterparts, with the only giveaway being the D-shaped "Boxer Diesel" badge affixed to their rear ends.
As for the new 2.0 CRD boxer, it's just as wide as a 2.0L gasoline version, but is shorter overall, making for a neat, compact package that produces 147 horsepower (110 kw, 150 PS) at 3,600 rpm and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) at 1,800 rpm. It's also Euro 4 compliant, emitting 148 g/km of CO² in the Legacy sedan. That's great and all, but we're most curious to hear what the oil-burning boxer sounds like. We'll have plenty more next month when we see the cars in person.
First of all, that's our favorite post title of the year so far. We don't get to write titles like that very often. Secondly, this intruder must be dumber than a bag of rocks or just ill-informed to break into the house of a professional race driver and think he's going to get away. The story goes like this: Franchitti told reporters recently that he was eating cereal one morning in the kitchen of his home in Nashville, Tennessee, when he looked up to find a man standing in front of him. Presumably the man was there to see Franchitti's wife, actress Ashley Judd, and did not expect to find another man scarfing cereal in his boxers. The intruder took off and Franchitti hopped in his car and followed, but he forgot one thing... pants. The 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner proceeded to chase the man in his boxers and a white T-shirt anyway, though police caught up to him first. Local media had already heard about the chase over the police scanners and were on scene to interview the half-dressed vigilante/race car driver, who wisely doled out soundbites from the seat of his car.
