Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet - First Look

By Feann Torr - 8/12/2004

Based on the new-for-2005 997 model 911 Carrera coupe, German sports car maker Porsche has revealed its new rag top.

Aptly named the 911 Carrera Cabriolet, it will be publicly shown in January at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit (aka Detroit Motor Show) and will benefit from more features than any other standard open top 911 model has offered in the past.

The new slink-mobile will be launched first in the USA in mid March, where it is traditionally Porsche's best-selling 911 model, and then followed by the UK and parts of Europe in April.

Porsche's convertibles have always enjoyed plenty of street cred, for while they are slightly heavier (by 85kg) than their tin-topped brethren and not quite as rigid, they still offer levels of performance that would make many family cars blush.

For those drivers looking at buying the highly sought-after 2005 model 911 Carrera Cabriolet, they'll need more than just big wallets. Propelling the entry-level Carrera Cabriolet to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds is a 3.6-litre horizontally opposed 6-cylinder engine. Or a boxer six, if you prefer the less complicated version.

In addition to its forceful straight line acceleration, both Carrera Cabriolet models have a drag coefficient of just 0.29, which is quite aerodynamic for a convertible, and enables a top speed of 285km/h, or 177mph for the 3.6-litre model.

The Carrera Cabriolet's boxer six powerplant makes 239kW of power @ 6800rpm, which is up 4kW on the previous model.

The more powerful Porsche Carrera Cabriolet S gets a larger 3.8-litre engine to up the ante, while giving potential buyers greater choice to boot.

This 3824cc engine doesn't need to rev as highly as its smaller sibling to reach peak power, generating 261kW (or 355bhp) 200rpm lower in the rev range @ 6600rpm.

Together with 400Nm of torque, the brawnier Porsche Carrera Cabriolet S will arrive at 100km/h from standstill in 4.9 seconds, which just one tenth of a second slower than the coupe version.

With their engines mounted in the rear (behind the rear axle), Porsche's 911 Cabriolet Carreras are in a unique position in the world of drop tops, but with this unusual engine placement comes the added problem of trying to engineer a roof that folds down around the engine without suffocating it.

Both new drop top models, the 911 Cabriolet and 911 Cabriolet S, are thusly equipped with with an electronic soft top that opens/closes in just 20 seconds and can be deployed or retracted even when the car is moving at speeds of up to 50km/h (30mph).

The roof section avoids adding heat to the engine by stowing just in front of the engine, and to protect its heated glass window, the top retracts in a Z-configuration with its outer side facing up.

The roof also helps protect occupants from rain by channelling water into a "specially developed door seal duct in the A-pillar". Very nice.

Passengers are protected by a pair of supplemental safety bars fitted behind the rear seats that deploy automatically if a rollover occurs, while two steel tubes integrated into the A pillars ensure the windscreen is rigid enough to hold up the car when upside-down. Dr. Porsche has been kind enough to include other safety items, such as head and thorax airbags for both driver and front seat passenger.

Like its coupe cousin, the 3.8-litre Carrera Cabriolet S benefits from the Porsche Active Suspension Management, or PASM, while the system can be optioned on the 3.6-litre Carrera Cabriolet. Simply put, the computer controlled system gives the driver the choice of different driving styles, sharpening up response for track work and reducing it when you just want to cruise.

The new 911 Cabriolets also get bigger rear spoilers that the coupes. In order to keep lift over the front and rear axles down when travelling at high speeds - an issue of safety, Porsche states - a speed-dependent rear spoiler rises some 20mm higher than those found on the 911 coupes.

Standard features have also been improved over the Cabriolet's predecessor, with Porsche Stability Management (PSM), larger 18 and 19-inch wheels, a wind deflector and Porsche Communication Management (PCM) - including the Porsche Sound Package Plus with CD radio with nine speakers - as standard equipment, all of which were in the past cost-adding options.

Porsche's new 911 Carrera Cabriolet and Carrera S Cabriolet (997 models) will sell in America for $US79,100 $88,900 respectively, which equates to roughly $103,000 and $116,000 in Australian currency, though the asking price locally will be much higher than that. Current 2004 (996 models) Carrera Cabriolets in Australia start at just over $200,000.

Available in the UK from the 9th of April 2005, the Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet will be priced at £65,260 and the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet at £72,230.

Porsche is steaming ahead with its new model launches, which have included the new Boxster, 911 Carrera Coupe and now the 911 Carrera Cabriolet, putting the German sports car maker a very positive position heading into 2005.

And it doesn't end there either. Porsche still has a number of new cars to launch - the 997 model 911 Turbo one of the most anticipated. Stay tuned for all the details in 2005 and beyond.