Porsche's->ke1 transition to four-cylinder boxer engines is now in full effect. News of this downsizing has been circulating the airwaves for quite some time now, but new details from CAR have shed light on the specifics of Porsche's four-cylinder engine plans. Apparently, Porsche is as serious as a monk in meditation about using four-cylinders for its future models. even tinkering with the possibility of using motors as small as 1.6 liters for its new crop of models.

CAR also reported that flat-four engines will be used by Porsche moving forward, including a 1.6-liter flat four that develops 210 horsepower, a 2.0-liter version with 286 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, and a 2.5-liter with 360 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque. Porsche will likely make use of turbochargers on these engines to keep the performance numbers up to where it doesn't insult the company's badge.

Cutting emissions while also improving the car's fuel economy and maintaining the iconic performance bite that has come to define Porsche has always been the objective of the advent of four-cylinder Porsche. These flat-four engines will go a long way in accomplishing that goal while also keeping true to the DNA of the flat-six engines that the company has used for years.

There are still questions on which Porsche will use which four-cylinder engine, but its safe to assume that a majority of its models, including the Boxster and the Macan, will be prepared with either a 2.0 or a 2.5 engine to go with a six-speed manual or seven-speed twin-clutch PDK transmission.

The base 1.6, though, is still being discussed with a possibility that this engine will be used on the sports car's of sister companies Volkswagen and Audi.

Click past the jump to read more about Porsche's future four-cylinder engine.

Why It Matters

Porsche's shift to four-cylinder engines is gaining more buzz by the day, pointing to a bigger and clearer picture on where the German automaker stands on the industry's continuing shift towards engine downsizing. But those dissappointed by this development don't need to be upset because at the end of the day, the performance output of future four-cylinder Porsches isn't expected to drop off significantly, if it even does at all. Thank the addition of turbochargers for that.

But the writing in the wall is getting clearer; Porsche is moving down to the four-pots and the days of prevalent use of six cylinders could be coming to an end.

Porsche Boxster Four-Cylinder

Earlier this month, our spy photographers managed to get a glimpse of a 2015 Porsche Boxster test car putting in some data laps at the Nurburgring. It didn't show any physical evidence of a four-cylinder engine, but our same spies attest that the exhaust nose on the Boxster wasn't from a six-cylinder.

That should be the latest indication that the 2015 Boxster won't come with the flat six like past models did.