Recently Cadillac and BMW announced their intentions to produce four-cylinder versions of their popular CTS and 3 Series sports sedans. Now AutoblogGreen reports that Thomas Krickelberg, Porsche's head of powertrain development, hinted that the current 911's six-cylinder engine could rather easily spawn off a four-cylinder version in the face of stringent EU CO2 regulations.

Evoking memories of the Porsche 912, as well as the company's later 924, 944, and 968 models, this indicates Porsche could be heading in a four-cylinder direction once again. That first comparison is the most apt, however, given the idea of starting from a six and taking out two cylinders. "Porsche twice offered 4 cylinder engines for this model: as the entry version from 1965 to 1969, using the 4-flat inherited from the 356, and then again in 1976 as the 912E... with a 2.0-liter air-cooled engine." Personally I'm all for the idea (no pun intended).

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)