Here's Why Porsche Is So Obsessed With The Boxer Engine - Storyboard

Porsche has employed Boxer engines in its sports cars for decades

The first time Porsche used a boxer engine wasn't in a Porsche car, but the original VW Beetle

The first Porsche to feature a boxer engine was the Type 64. It was a modified VW Beetle engine

Hans Mezger was responsible for almost all Porsche boxer engines in the brand's history

The last Porsche to feature the Mezger boxer-six engine was the 997 GT3 RS 4.0

Porsche chose the boxer engine for a few important reasons, and all of them have to do with the car's driving dynamics

The boxer engine (especially the six-cylinder variants) are incredibly smooth and balanced

This also allows boxer engines to feel like they can rev more freely

The low engine profile makes for better handling, despite some earlier 911s suffering from snap oversteer

Before AWD became common, cars with rear-mounted engines had better handling in harsh conditions

Among the boxer engine's many advantages is that they are the best candidates for air cooling

However, boxer engines are very wide, making them more difficult to service

Boxer engines are also more expensive to make due to their compelxity

But having the boxer engine in the rear allows the 911 to launch like no other car

Porsche doesn't plan on phasing out the boxer engine, and the T-Hybrid powertrain ensures it

Swipe up to read more about the benefits and drawbacks of Porsche's boxer engines.