Porsche's four-cylinder 718 was quicker than before, and critics hated how it sounded
When Porsche swapped the six-cylinder engines in its mid-engined Boxster and Cayman for turbocharged fours in 2016, the cars got faster and more economical. The motoring press still recoiled. One magazine called the noise raspy and uncouth, another said it cheapened the whole experience, and Porsche eventually brought six cylinders back.
The fourth-generation Boxster, known internally as the 982, arrived in January 2016 and was shown at the Geneva Motor Show, with the Cayman coupe following in April in Beijing. Porsche renamed both 718, after a small racer that won the Targa Florio in 1959 and 1960 by outmanoeuvring cars with bigger, stronger engines. The message was that lightness and agility could beat brute force, which neatly justified dropping two cylinders.
The new flat-four engines came in 2.0 and 2.5 litre sizes, with the larger one using a variable-geometry turbocharger. Reviewers found the cars mechanically better than the models they replaced, with sharper acceleration and steering, and Motor Trend named the Cayman its second-best driver's car of 2017, praising a stiff suspension that told you exactly what the road was doing. One test even found it could outmanoeuvre the older, costlier Cayman GT4.
The sound was the sticking point. Car and Driver described it as grating, Top Gear said the car felt less cultured than before, and Evo dismissed the note inside the cabin as tuneless drivel. The GTS versions, with a larger turbo and different intakes, won some critics over; New York Times contributor Tom Voelk thought the GTS sounded much better, with deeper bass under the whine of the turbocharger.
For 2020, Porsche answered by fitting the GTS with a naturally aspirated 4.0 litre six. Meanwhile the track-focused GT4 and Spyder used a version of that engine with cylinder deactivation, a Porsche first, and a GT4 RS followed in 2021. Production of the GT4 and Spyder ended in October 2025.
Source: Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman (982)
