It has been nearly two decades since we last saw a four-cylinder powered Porsche on sale; the front-engined 968 was the last. The German firm is well-known for using flat-six engines as its powerplant of choice, and until recentl,y the vast majority of its models were powered by engines of this configuration. The six-pot boxer motors, as found in the Boxster, were the smallest on offer within the brand until now.
News has just emerged that the Porsche Macan will be introduced into certain Asian markets (including Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, China, Hong Kong and Japan) with a 2,0-litre four-cylinder unit. The turbocharged engine produces 177 kW and 350 N.m and delivers power to all wheels via Porsche’s PDK (twin-clutch) transmission.
As reported in CAR (September, 2013), Porsche CEO Matthias Muller confirmed that the company is working on flat-four engines for its Boxster and Cayman ranges, but this inline four-pot in the Macan is sourced from sister brand Audi, a unit used in many models including the Q5. This engine is the same EA888 unit which is used in Volkswagen’s Golf GTI with the Performance Pack. It is also used for the Golf R 400 Concept which was shown at the Beijing Auto Show.
Visually the four-cylinder Macan is differentiated by twin tail-pipe exits as opposed to the quad arrangement of the six-cylinder variants.
