Porsche may be looking to go smaller than the Boxster, and the pieces may already be in place. The new roadster may be the re-birth of the 914, a small mid-engined targa-top sports car Porsche produced in the 70s using mostly Volkswagen parts.

Just like the original 914, if Porsche were to make the new car, it would pull from VW again. Specifically using Volkswagen’s upcoming roadster (also possibly Audi’s R4) as a base.

To make sure this car is uniquely Porsche, the company will most likely supply its own engines to the project. This would similar to the Cayenne->ke212 situation where it shares similar parts with the Touareg->ke321 and Q7->ke1083, but Porsche still produces its own engines. The engine supplied for the new roadster could be a four-cylinder version of the new 911->ke282’s flat six. As reported yesterday, the new 911’s engine was engineered specifically to be made into the smaller application.

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