Porsche reveals next Boxster and Cayman will get four-cylinder engines

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Porsche has officially confirmed that the next Boxster and Cayman models will downsize to turbocharged flat-four engines – instead of their current six-cylinder power plants.

It also revealed that the next models will be renamed slightly, giving both vehicles a "718" prefix.

The numerical addition is in reference to the Porsche 718 racing car of 1957, which was also powered by a four-cylinder boxer engine.

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Rumours that Porsche has been planning to use a turbocharged four-cylinder in the Boxster and Cayman have been around for some time now, and mules thought to be testing Porsche's flat four have been spotted on the Nurburgring as far back as last summer.

However, the announcement doesn't signal the complete end of naturally aspirated flat-sixes for Porsche's smaller performance models. Auto Express reports the move to smaller engines has been prompted by emissions standards, but the fastest versions of the cars will continue to be offered with six-cylinder engines thanks to the "overwhelming" feedback Porsche has received for its 3.8 litre Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder.

They also report that the range will be reversed to match the 911 line-up, so the convertible Boxster will be more expensive than the hard-top Cayman when both new versions of the car arrive.

According to Autocar, this creates a dilemma. Traditionally, the Cayman has sat above the Boxster in terms of power output, but it is unclear whether this will continue. They expect the new Boxster engine to be a 2.0 litre offered in two different states of tune: 261bhp and 311bhp for 'S' badged cars.

The cars will be introduced "over the course of 2016" according to Porsche, and they come at a time when the next 911 has also downsized and adopted turbocharging, dropping down to 3.0 litres.