Like all of us, when I heard of the new 718 Boxster and Cayman model line, I was cautiously optimistic. Sure, we would prefer that all of our Porsche sports cars have a flat-six, but the turbocharged flat-fours are making some pretty good HP -- 300 in the base Boxster and 350 in the Boxster S (there isn't a ton of info on the 718 Cayman yet). The cars also look great, too! And I'm sure the driving dynamics are everything we'd expect from a contemporary Porsche.
The remaining factor is the sound. Now that I have a proper flat-six Porsche -- a 3.4 Cayman S with a Fabspeed Maxflo exhaust setup -- I am now properly aware of how much a great engine note can add to the driving experience. Last weekend, during an unseasonably warm spell in CT, I took my 987 Cayman through a section of very twisty back road with high rock walls on either side; it was the kind of road where you *could* drive in 3rd at mid-range RPM, but why do that when you could hustle it through at 6000rpm in 2nd? With the windows down, of course. The sound was intoxicating. I've owned various Porsches for 16 years now, and it was probably one of the most memorable drives I've had... and it was mostly due to the sound generated by the combination of that motor and that exhaust setup.
Well, in this video, we finally get to listen to Porsche's new flat-four. And maybe the video doesn't do it justice... but it doesn't sound very good, does it? Inside the cabin, it sounds a *little* bit like a 951, but outside? Lots of farts and burbles. It's possible that the driver isn't wringing the engine out the way we might with a naturally-aspirated flax-six, but then again, with turbos, he doesn't really need to.
One might argue that four-cylinder engines just don't sound very good in general, but the Alfa 4C has an argument to make, and the Subi BRZ/Scion whatever it is sounds pretty nice... plus, I've encountered tuned 951s and 968s that have sounded great.
Anyhow. I don't want to poison the well. Listen for yourself, and let me know what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2iVVt1kG2w