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  Porsche's own engineers believe the six-cylinder boxer engine can be easily converted into a four cylinder.

• A four-cylinder engine is not part of the plan for the Boxster.
• Since Porsche owns VW there is room for collaboration.

Time are tough, but not tough enough for Porsche to build a four-cylinder Boxster.

It has ruled out any chance of a four-pot price-fighter to cut the entry price for the Porsche family, despite recent rumours from Europe.

Any talk of the next-generation Boxster in 2012 taking on a turbocharged four in the tail was strongly denied by Porsche's executive vice-president for research and development, Wolfgang Durheimer.

In China to help launch the luxury four-seater Panamera, Durheimer says Porsche is chasing better fuel economy and lighter weight across all its models but a four-cylinder is not part of the plan, at least at present.

"A lot of people are around hinting about what we could do," he says.

"Of course, in the past we had four cylinders but at present we don't have a project under development."

Despite Durheimer's denials, Porsche's own engineers say the six-cylinder boxer engine can be converted into a four cylinder without too much trouble, giving an engine capacity of 2.4-litres.

Despite his denials, the Porsche engineering chief admits some of the ideas used in Volkwagen's smaller twin-charged turbocharger/supercharged engines have merit. And, since Porsche owns VW, there is room for collaboration.

"Together with VW we have a very bright future ahead of us, we have the chance to share forces," Durheimer says.

But he says any transfer can only happen if VW and Porsche are not direct competitors.

Porsche last had a four cylinder in the 924 and 944, a series built built between 1976 and 1988.

The 924 was originally designed as a VW sports car but Porsche took it over as a replacement for its mid-engine 914.

If Porsche does decide on a four-cylinder model it can gain some inspiration from VW's own BlueSport roadster concept, which was shown at this year's Detroit Motor show. The performance two-seater sports car has hybrid-like economy but uses a mid-engine 2.0-litre turbo-diesel.

The BlueSport uses light-weight, high strength steel, tipping the scales at just 1200kg.

While denying a four, Durheimer is strongly in favour of Porsche hybrids. The company has already confirmed it will use a petrol-electric drive-train in the Cayenne SUV and Panamera in 2011.

Durheimer says hybrids will be around "for a very long time" and present a solid case to bridge the gap between fuel economy and performance.

However, diesel and petrol engines are also becoming more efficient, he says.

"Petrol and diesels are getting more and more efficient but hybrids will help bridge the gap," he says.