I was curious about this, then I clicked the link, which took me to a R&T page that had a YouTube video. I was floored.
The video in question:
It took a sec for me to understand that the sound wasn’t coming from the WRX but from a Porsche Boxster. And it sounded VERY nice. Very Subaru’ish but still very nice.
The bottom line is, Porsche’s all turbo lineup of boxer four-cylinder engines will replace flat-sixes in all but the highest-tier, limited-edition cars.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a26227/boxster-cayman-four-cylinder-power/
Boxster and Cayman turbocharged flat fours will have between 240 and 370 HP, per Road & Track magazine:
Here’s how the pie is being cut: base model cars should see 240 hp from their single-turbo two-liter. Step up to an “S” and displacement jumps to 2.5 liters, and output would be 300 hp. GTS models would receive a 370 hp 2.5-liter, a little below what Porsche CEO Mattias Müller indicated would be the theoretical maximum output of a turbo flat four in the Boxman.?
Car & Driver reports:
Only the ultra-high-performance Boxster Spyder and Cayman GT4 are said to retain their naturally aspirated flat-six engine, a 3.8-liter unit. Which is sure to make them even more highly desired than they already are. Meanwhile, one has to wonder whether the base, S, and GTS versions of the current Boxster/Cayman are destined to become depreciation-proof used cars, in the same vein as the final air-cooled 911 models.
Check this out! Now, this isn’t the very first Boxer-powered motorcycle…BMW has a crap-ton of them. Honda’s Goldwings have always used the horizontally-opposed engine configuration, as well. I like this one, though, because both wheels are powered. As well, that black engine looks sinister! I’m not sure if the coloring has been photoshopped to represent WRX/STI rally colors (rally blue with gold wheels…Subaru trademark).
There’s also this:
http://thekneeslider.com/kickboxer-subaru-wrx-powered-motorcycle-concept/
This IS powered by a WRX engine, but it’s also just an electronic sketch. Be sure to visit that link, because it has a ton of pictures of the bike and engine…it also has a quick article on how the bike was designed.
I saw the below on Google+, posted by Automobile Magazine.
Note that these two cars aren’t really comparable (they both use horizontally-opposed engines but it’s a stretch to think that they’re related in any sense). As well, the STI’s AWD advantage is nullified by the fact that this is a standing mile competition…the distance is far too long for AWD to be a definitive factor. Also, even though the Cayman is down 25 HP, it weighs 300-lb less while also being 2-wheeled, which means there’s less parasitic drivetrain loss (more of its power is making it to the ground in comparison to the STI).
These two cars only have one thing in common: horizontally-opposed engines. Well, there’s one other thing they share…they both ran the exact same standing mile completion time.
It’s fun to watch as long as the viewers realize that neither of these two cars are designed for drag racing.
If you’re curious as to how Subaru engines are disassembled and assembled, the two videos below are bursting with knowledge and pertain to the EJ257 (STI engine in this case).
What’s cool is that the person in the video is a master Subaru technician. He explains a LOT of things (with the help of the person behind the camera). As well, he explains such terms as cracked ringlands (30 minutes into the assembly video). Ever heard the term “spun a bearing” and don’t know what the term means? He explains that term. He shows what bearings are and shows the differences between forged & cast pistons (and explains the differences between the two). He also shows the damaged caused by driving these cars with no oil.
These are great videos!
Note: I’m having a hard time finding the disassembly video, but will post it here when I find it.
