If you’re a Porsche-sniffer, you’ll be used to six-cylinder engines. And the arrival of the new Boxster with a mere four-banger won’t have impressed you at all.

But if you’re a full-on anorak, you’ll have welcomed it with delight. Because it’s the perfect opportunity to sup knowingly on your pint of Ye Olde Speckled Badger, survey the room until all fall silent and then remark sagaciously that of course, this is merely Porsche coming full circle.

That’s because when Porsche created its first production car, the 356, it was powered by a four-pot.

The company as we know it now started building the 356 in 1950. A decade on, a revised version came out with a new 1.6-litre unit developing 75bhp and 88lb ft. It showed a 0-60 time of 11.4 seconds and returned 29.2mpg.

The 2.0-litre flat four in today’s Boxster 718 gives you 38.2mpg. And at 5.1 seconds, it’s just a bit quicker.

But in other ways, what you’ll notice about these two is their similarities. With the 356, Porsche started out as it meant to continue, building talented sportscars you could use without a problem as your daily drive.

Testing the Super 75 version of the 356, Autocar magazine said: ‘The Super 75 is completely docile, has light and precise controls and is endowed with most of the creature comforts demanded of a strictly touring car.’

The testers went on to praise the 356’s grip in fast corners, along with its lack of body roll and ‘almost animated personality.’

Rather oddly, they noted the integrity of the car’s body ‘whatever the terrain.’ Maybe they had a crystal ball with a picture of a Cayenne in it.

But most apposite of all the comments in Autocar’s review of the £2215 Porsche (that’s £45,000 or so in today’s money) was that behind the wheel, you could never get bored.

So you see, the chap with the pint of Badger is right. This is just Porsche coming full circle after all.