Thomas Krickelberg, Porsche’s head of powertrains, says that the new 911 6-cylinder engine has been designed in a way it can be easily downsized if necessary. Speaking at the launch of the new 2009 Porsche 911, Krickelberg said that Porsche may bring back 4-cylinder engines in order to increase its lineups overall fuel-economy.

“The target was to have a six-cylinder because that is the criteria of the 911 and the Boxster,” said Krickelberg. “But there is still the option to reduce the number of cylinders.”

A 4-cylinder Porsche engine would start at 2.4 liters. Porsche says that if there is a strong enough pressure to downsize engines it will seriously consider the move.

Source: Drive (via AutoBlog)