Porsche is considering engineering a flat-eight boxster engine for its Ferrari-rivalling supercar, company bosses have admitted.
At the first unveiling of the new 991-series 911, Wolfgang Hatz, Porsche head of Research and Development said such an engine was possible. He told Autocar: "We have to go into that market properly equipped.".
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This week Porsche CEO Mathhias Müller said he was irritated that Porsche didnt compete with Ferrari in the 250,000 Euros-plus price range. He said there was space for a car like the seminal 1980s high-tech 959 model.
Porsche engineers have long been frustrated by the fact that the companys iconic flat-six engine cannot be extended much beyond 4.0-litres. Its also felt that in the Ferrari-dominated market, eight cylinders are a pre-requisite.
Moving to a larger engine would also differentiate the new model from the new 911 and next-generation Cayman range. Its thought that the creation of such an engine has been made easier by the engineering working currently being done on the new turbocharged flat-four engine, which will be offered in Porsches planned entry-level roadster. This all-new motor is thought to be modular, allowing it to be extended into the next-generation flat-6 and a flat-8.
Hatz also said that a development of the Carrera GTs ultra-compact transmission could be used for the new model. Such a transmission would free-up space for the use of the longer eight-cylinder engine.
"We could develop it, of course, One of the key issues is where we put the differential, but it is a possibility," he said.
