Porsche detunes Cayman and Boxster for China
Slower, less powerful and cheaper sports cars hoped to generate more Chinese interest in coupe and roadsterPorsche is hoping to overcome Chinese buyers' lacklustre enthusiasm for sports cars by offering new entry-level level versions of both the 718 Boxster roadster and the similarly upgraded Cayman coupe.
According to newswire Automotive News, the entry-level Cayman and Boxster will come with a 180kW version of Porsche's new turbocharged 2.0-litre flat four-cylinder.
In Australia the same engine produces 220kW/380Nm.
Performance figures for the Chinese-spec models haven’t been released, but the main reason for the reduction in power is to offer a car for less than 600,000 renminbi ($A120,000 our money), which has been described by Chinese Porsche product manager, Jan Roth, as "a magic threshold for customers".
The German car-maker hopes to emulate the success of Audi’s TT coupe, which is popular among Chinese buyers but only when fitted with the cheaper 1.8-litre turbo engine.
Replacing the six-cylinder Cayman and Boxster that sold for more than 700,000 renminbi ($A140,000), Porsche is confident that sales of the cheaper, less powerful Boxster and Cayman will rise from 2015's 2500 units to 4500 cars by 2017.
A similar fix is also needed for the 911. Currently Chinese buyers purchase 16 times more Cayenne SUVs than the firm's flagship coupe.
It's almost certain the less powerful versions of the 718 Boxster and Cayman will not travel to other markets due to fears of damaging resale values of the more powerful models, Automotive News claims.
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