Porsche is far more than the eternal 911. In the beginning it was the four-cylinder racers 356, 550, 718 and 904 Carrera that made Porsche a fear opponent of established sports cars. The four-cylinder family 924 to 968 even became essential for Porsche's survival. A tradition marked by the four, which the 718 Boxster and the 718 Cayman are now to continue.
If you look back in time, the six-cylinder boxer in the Boxster launched in 1996 was actually a real surprise. The new entry-level roadster should benefit from the image of the six-cylinder icon 911. The four-cylinder tradition, to which the 718 Boxster and Cayman mid-engine series equipped with new downsizing hearts are now based, goes back further.
The basis of all developments was the legendary Porsche Type 60K10, which Ferry Porsche designed in 1939 to take part in the never-held Berlin-Rome race. After the Second World War, it was Project 356, the first production model to bear a Porsche logo and was accelerated by a Volkswagen four-cylinder with enlarged valve openings and finally a double carburetor. First with a tubular frame, aluminum body and mid-engine, then after advertising-effective racing appearances as a production car with rear engine and sheet steel frame.
Umberto Maglioli and Huschke von Hanstein at the Targa Florio 1956, on the other hand, had to save lawn. The two racing titans took the spectators' breath away when they covered the entire six- and eight-cylinder Porsche 550 A Spyder with a weight of 99 kilograms and 135 kW / 550 hp Competition outclassed. The 220 km / h fast Spyder was fired by an air-cooled high-performance four-cylinder with four camshafts, developed by the later company boss Ernst Fuhrmann.
With the successors of the 550 Spyder, Porsche succeeded in making an even bigger hit because the types 718 RSK and 718 RS60 were considered virtually indomitable on many slopes. Above all, it was the combination of feather-light 530 kilograms and 109 kW / 148 PS or 118 kW / 160 PS strong four-cylinder boxers that made 260 km / h possible. In search of even more lightness, Porsche first combined a steel box frame with a plastic body in 1963, which was brought into shape by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. The result was the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, a mid-engine sports car with a further-developed Fuhrmann four-cylinder engine, which proved unbeatable at the Targa Florio in 1964.
A year later, the Porsche 911 was also welcomed to the four-cylinder club.
With a small, four-cylinder boxer that releases 66 kW / 90 hp and the type number 912, the iconic coupés and new Targas cost significantly less than the 911 with six-cylinder. Although later spurned by many 1969 fans, the 912, which had been built until 6.401, was a success number that XNUMX sports car fans decided on in the introductory year. The little boxer outperformed his big brother by more than double in sales.
The first Porsche with a four-cylinder front engine built at Audi was also an irresistible entry-level Porsche for many. The 100.000, launched in 1975, reached 924 in production in just under five years, a record for an athlete in this segment. Together with its further developments 944 and 968, there were even more than 325.000 copies, more than any other Porsche before.
With the global economic crisis of 1987/88, sports cars experienced a temporary decline worldwide, which also hit Porsche hard. Nevertheless, it was precisely the profits from the business with the four-cylinder that brought Porsche out of the valley and started a new era in 1995 with the Boxster mid-engine model. An era that brought six and eight cylinders, electric and diesel drives.
(Tungsten nickel / SP-X)